Abstract
Evaluation of food intake quality using validated tools makes it possible to give individuals or populations recommendations for improving their diet. This study’s objective was to evaluate the reproducibility and ability to identify dietary patterns of the second version of the Mini Food Intake Quality Survey (Mini-ECCA v.2). The survey was administered using a remote voting system on two occasions with four-week intervals between administrations to 276 health science students (average age = 20.1 ± 3.1 years; 68% women). We then performed a per-question weighted kappa calculation, a cluster analysis, an ANOVA test by questionnaire item and between identified clusters, and a discriminant analysis. Moderate to excellent agreement was observed (weighted κ = 0.422–0.662). The cluster analysis identified three groups, and the discriminant analysis obtained three classification functions (85.9% of cases were correctly classified): group 1 (19.9%) was characterized by higher intake of water, vegetables, fruit, fats, oilseeds/avocado, meat and legumes (healthy food intake); group 2 (47.1%) frequently consumed both fish and unhealthy fats (habits in need of improvement); group 3 (33%) frequently consumed sweetened beverages, foods not prepared at home, processed foods, refined cereals and alcohol (unhealthy food intake). In conclusion, the Mini-ECCA v.2 has moderate to excellent agreement, and it is able to identify dietary patterns in university students.
Highlights
Diet plays a determinant role in either the maintenance or deterioration of health
We identified other indices that have been developed which evaluate only food intake quality, as opposed to diet quality
The objective of this study was to assess the levels of reproducibility of the Mini-ECCA v.2 and its ability to identify dietary patterns in university students
Summary
Diet plays a determinant role in either the maintenance or deterioration of health. the intake of certain foods, food groups or nutrients has been proven to have an influential effect on the prevention, development and treatment of a number of chronic non-communicable diseases [1,2].In light of this reality, dietary quality evaluations have become fundamentally important in today’s clinical and epidemiological research [3].The term dietary quality is often used to identify the components of a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet and adapt them to the needs of specific populations with the aim of optimizing health [4].One way of determining dietary quality is through the use of indices that make it possible to categorize an individual’s diet after comparing that person’s actual and recommended intake levels [5,6]. Diet plays a determinant role in either the maintenance or deterioration of health. The intake of certain foods, food groups or nutrients has been proven to have an influential effect on the prevention, development and treatment of a number of chronic non-communicable diseases [1,2] In light of this reality, dietary quality evaluations have become fundamentally important in today’s clinical and epidemiological research [3]. The term dietary quality is often used to identify the components of a healthy, balanced and nutritious diet and adapt them to the needs of specific populations with the aim of optimizing health [4]. One way of determining dietary quality is through the use of indices that make it possible to categorize an individual’s diet after comparing that person’s actual and recommended intake levels [5,6]. Some of the most internationally recognized indices are the Healthy Eating Index (HEI) [7,8,9,10,11,12], the Alternative
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