Validation Information: Food Consumption Frequency Questionnaire
Trinidad Rodriguez 2008
Validation of a short questionnaire on frequency of dietary intake: reproducibility and validity
Background: Knowledge on dietary intake in individuals is an essential tool to know the dietary patterns and explore their association with the disease risk. One of the current methods most currently used are dietary intake questionnaires. The main drawback of their use is the need for previous validation. Our objective was to validate a short questionnaire on the frequency of dietary intake. Setting: Reus (Catalonia), Spain. Subjects: 71 adolescents and adults from both genders, with different socio-cultural levels and professional categories. Interventions: The questionnaire was administered two times within an approximated period of one year to assess the reproducibility. Through this time, 9 24-hour recalls (gold standard method) were administered to determine the validity. Results: Spearman's correlation coefficients for the reproducibility analysis varied 0.49-0.75 for foods and 0.44-0.78 for energy and nutrients. Most of intra-class correlation coefficients varied 0.53-0.96 for foods and 0.49-0.78 for energy and nutrients. In the validity analysis, the correlations varied 0.27-0.59 for foods, and 0.30-0.49 for energy and nutrients. The correlation coefficients in the validity study varied 0.41-0.67 for foods, and 0.29-0.47 for energy and nutrients. Conclusion: The questionnaire allows assessing the consumption of groups of foods, energy and macronutrients with adequate reproducibility and validity.
Total number of nutrients validated: 18
Not all of the nutrients validated in the validation studies are included in the table below, as statistical data was only selected to be displayed for a number of nutrients, this included:
- Energy
- Fat
- Saturated Fat
- Mono-unsaturated Fat
- Poly-unsaturated Fat
- Carbohydrates
- Protein
- Sugar
- Non‐starch polysaccharides(NSP)
- Sodium
- Calcium
- Iron
- Zinc
- Retinol
- Folate
- Folic Acid
- Vitamin B12
- Vitamin C
- Fruit & Vegetables
- Urinary Nitrogen
To find information on the other validated nutrients please read the validation study.
- Energy
- Macronutrients: 5
- Micronutrients: 12
| Comparator | Lifestage | Sex | Nutrient Measured | Mean Difference | Standard Deviation | Correlation Coefficient | Cohen's Kappa Coefficient | Percentage Agreement | Percentage Agreement Categories | Lower Limits of Agreement | Upper Limits of Agreement |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24hr Recall | Adults, Adolescents | Both | Energy (kcal) | 0.49 (S) | |||||||
| Protein (g) | 0.42 (S); 0.56(ICC) | ||||||||||
| Fat (g) | 0.36 (S); 0.09 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Carbohydrates (g) | 0.53 (S); 0.42 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Calcium (mg) | 0.28 (S); 0.44 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Iron (mg) | 0.43(S); -0.01 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Retinol (µg) | 0.16 (S); -0.01 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Folate (µg) | 0.30 (S); 0.52 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Vitamin B12 (µg) | 0.31 (S); 0.08 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Vitamin C (mg) | 0.48 (S); 0.55 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Fruit (g) | 0.59 (S); 0.61 (ICC) | ||||||||||
| Vegetables (g) | 0.52 (S); 0.75 (ICC) |
Some results have been calculated using statistical techniques based on the published data.
For further information on statistical terms click on Statistical tests used in validation studies
All correlations coefficients in the table are unadjusted unless stated otherwise. For adjusted correlation coefficients and other statistical methods used in the study e.g. paired t-tests, please read the validation articles.
- # Adjusted
- † Energy adjusted.
- ‡ For loge-transformed, energy-adjusted nutrient intakes.
- ^ Adjacent included.
- ᵟ Participants provided identical responses.
- (w) = Weighted.
Trinidad Rodríguez I, Fernández Ballart J, Cucó Pastor G, Biarnés Jordà E, Arija Val V. Validación de un cuestionario de frecuencia de consumo alimentario corto: reproducibilidad y validez. Nutrición Hospitalaria. 2008;23(3):242-52.