Abstract
This research assessed the relative validity and reproducibility of the Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies (DQESV2) over one month in young adults, given the lack of concise and convenient instruments for assessing recent dietary intake in this population. Participants were recruited from a large Australian university (N = 102; 35% male; age 18–34 years; body mass index 16–37 kg/m2). Five one-day weighed food records (WFR) were administered over one month followed by the DQESV2. Estimates for nutrients (energy, protein, total fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, sugars, dietary fibre, and alcohol) and fruit and vegetable servings were compared between methods using correlation coefficients, 95% limits of agreement, and quintile classifications. One week later, a second DQESV2 was completed by n = 77 of the participants to assess reproducibility using intra-class correlations (ICC) and weighted kappa. Comparing methods, all nutrients and fruit and vegetable servings showed significant positive correlations (P<0.05) except protein intake in males; over 60% of participants were within one quintile classification except total fat and dietary fibre intakes in males (55% and 56%, respectively); and differences in nutrient and food intakes between methods were all within +/−20% of the mean WFR values except alcohol intake in females. Between first and second administrations of the DQESV2 all ICC coefficients were positive (P<0.01) and weighted kappa coefficients ranged from 0.54 for fruit servings (including fruit juice) in males to 0.91 for protein intake in females. Over a one month period, the DQESV2 demonstrated good reproducibility for the studied nutrients and for fruit and vegetable servings and provided a valid measure of the studied nutrients, except alcohol in females, and of fruit servings (including fruit juice) in both genders, at the group level in this young adult population.
Highlights
The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a method of dietary assessment that measures an individual’s usual consumption of food items or food groups within a specified time period [1]
In Australia, there are a limited number of FFQs that are in common use, one being the Cancer Council Victoria Dietary Questionnaire for Epidemiological Studies (DQESV2) [3]
This study aimed to examine the relative validity and reproducibility of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (DQESV2) against five-days weighed food records, over a one month period in young adults
Summary
The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a method of dietary assessment that measures an individual’s usual consumption of food items or food groups within a specified time period [1]. They are commonly used to measure dietary intake in large populations for epidemiological studies, as they place less burden on the respondent and are usually less expensive and more administered than other methods of dietary assessment [1,2]. In the 1980’s the Cancer Council Victoria developed a 121 item FFQ to measure dietary intake in men and women aged 40 to 69 years, participating in the Melbourne Collaborative Cohort study [4]. Validity of the DQESV2 has yet to be evaluated in younger Australian men and women (ages 18 to 34 years), a population for which there is a lack of administered questionnaires that may be used to accurately assess dietary intake
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