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Abstract Background Dietary assessment methods have limitations in capturing real-time eating behaviour accurately. Equipped with automated dietary-data-collection capabilities, the “intelligent ordering system” (IOS) has potential applicability in obtaining long-term consecutive, relatively detailed on-campus dietary records among university students with little resource consumption. We investigated (1) the relative validity of IOS-derived nutrient/food intakes compared to those from the 7-day food diary (7DFD); (2) whether including a supplemental food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) improves IOS accuracy; and (3) sex differences in IOS dietary intake estimation. Methods Medical students (n = 221; age = 22.2 ± 2.4 years; 38.5% male and 61.5% female) completed the 7DFD and SFFQ. During the consecutive 7-day survey period, students weighed and photographed each meal before and after consumption. Then, students reviewed their 3-month diet and completed the SFFQ, which includes eight underprovided school-canteen food items (e.g., dairy, fruits, nuts). Meanwhile, 9385 IOS dietary data entries were collected. We used Spearman coefficients and linear regression models to estimate the associations among the different dietary intake assessment methods. Individual- and group-level agreement was assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, cross-classification, and Bland‒Altman analysis. Results IOS mean daily energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake estimations were significantly lower (-15-20%) than those of the 7DFD. The correlation coefficients varied from 0.52 (for added sugar) to 0.88 (for soybeans and nuts), with fruits (0.37) and dairy products (0.29) showing weaker correlations. Sixty-two (milk and dairy products) to 97% (soybeans and nuts) of participants were classified into the same or adjacent dietary intake distribution quartile using both methods. The energy and macronutrient intake differences between the IOS + SFFQ and 7DFD groups decreased substantially. The separate fruit intake measurements from each assessment method did not significantly differ from each other (p > 0.05). IOS and IOS + SFFQ regression models generally yielded higher R2 values for males than for females. Conclusion Despite estimation differences, the IOS can be reliable for medical student dietary habit assessment. The SFFQ is useful for measuring consumption of foods that are typically unavailable in school cafeterias, improving the overall dietary evaluation accuracy. The IOS assessment was more accurate for males than for females.

Abstract Background Healthy eating habits at a young age are crucial to support growth and development and good general health. In this context, monitoring youth dietary intakes adequately with valid tools is important to develop efficient interventions and identify groups that are more at risk of inadequate intakes. This study aimed to assess the relative validity of the self-administered web-based 24-h dietary recall (R24W) for evaluating energy and nutrient intakes among active adolescents. Methods Participants were invited to complete one interviewer-administered 24-h dietary dietary recall and the R24W on up to three occasions within one month. A total of 272 French-speaking active adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from the province of Québec were invited to complete three R24W and one interview-administered 24-h recall. Student’s t-test and correlations were conducted on sex-adjusted data. Percent differences, cross-classification (percentage of agreement), weighted Kappa and Bland-Altman plots were calculated. Results Mean (SD) energy intake from the R24W was 8.8% higher than from the interview-administered 24-h dietary recall (2558 kcal ± 1128 vs. 2444 kcal ± 998, p

Background: Dietary assessment methods have limitations in capturing real-time eating behaviour accurately. Equipped with automated dietary-data-collection capabilities, the "intelligent ordering system" (IOS) has potential applicability in obtaining long-term consecutive, relatively detailed on-campus dietary records among university students with little resource consumption. We investigated (1) the relative validity of IOS-derived nutrient/food intakes compared to those from the 7-day food diary (7DFD); (2) whether including a supplemental food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) improves IOS accuracy; and (3) sex differences in IOS dietary intake estimation. Methods: Medical students (n = 221; age = 22.2 ± 2.4 years; 38.5% male and 61.5% female) completed the 7DFD and SFFQ. During the consecutive 7-day survey period, students weighed and photographed each meal before and after consumption. Then, students reviewed their 3-month diet and completed the SFFQ, which includes eight underprovided school-canteen food items (e.g., dairy, fruits, nuts). Meanwhile, 9385 IOS dietary data entries were collected. We used Spearman coefficients and linear regression models to estimate the associations among the different dietary intake assessment methods. Individual- and group-level agreement was assessed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test, cross-classification, and Bland‒Altman analysis. Results: IOS mean daily energy, protein, fat, and carbohydrate intake estimations were significantly lower (-15-20%) than those of the 7DFD. The correlation coefficients varied from 0.52 (for added sugar) to 0.88 (for soybeans and nuts), with fruits (0.37) and dairy products (0.29) showing weaker correlations. Sixty-two (milk and dairy products) to 97% (soybeans and nuts) of participants were classified into the same or adjacent dietary intake distribution quartile using both methods. The energy and macronutrient intake differences between the IOS + SFFQ and 7DFD groups decreased substantially. The separate fruit intake measurements from each assessment method did not significantly differ from each other (p > 0.05). IOS and IOS + SFFQ regression models generally yielded higher R2 values for males than for females. Conclusion: Despite estimation differences, the IOS can be reliable for medical student dietary habit assessment. The SFFQ is useful for measuring consumption of foods that are typically unavailable in school cafeterias, improving the overall dietary evaluation accuracy. The IOS assessment was more accurate for males than for females. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Healthy eating habits at a young age are crucial to support growth and development and good general health. In this context, monitoring youth dietary intakes adequately with valid tools is important to develop efficient interventions and identify groups that are more at risk of inadequate intakes. This study aimed to assess the relative validity of the self-administered web-based 24-h dietary recall (R24W) for evaluating energy and nutrient intakes among active adolescents. Methods: Participants were invited to complete one interviewer-administered 24-h dietary dietary recall and the R24W on up to three occasions within one month. A total of 272 French-speaking active adolescents aged 12 to 17 years from the province of Québec were invited to complete three R24W and one interview-administered 24-h recall. Student's t-test and correlations were conducted on sex-adjusted data. Percent differences, cross-classification (percentage of agreement), weighted Kappa and Bland-Altman plots were calculated. Results: Mean (SD) energy intake from the R24W was 8.8% higher than from the interview-administered 24-h dietary recall (2558 kcal ± 1128 vs. 2444 kcal ± 998, p < 0.05). Significant differences in mean nutrient intake between the R24W and the interview-administered 24-h dietary recall ranged from 6.5% for % E from fat (p < 0.05) to 25.2% for saturated fat (p < 0.001), i.e., higher values with R24W. Sex-adjusted correlations were significant for all nutrients except for % E from proteins and thiamin (range: 0.24 to 0.52, p < 0.01). Cross-classification demonstrated that 36.6% of the participants were classified in the same fourth with both methods, 39.6% in the adjacent fourth, and 5.7% misclassified. Bland-Atman plots revealed proportional bias between the two methods for 7/25 nutrients. Completing at least two recalls with the R24W increased the precision of intake estimates. Conclusion: These data suggest that the R24W presents an acceptable relative validity compared to a standard interview-administered 24-h recall for estimating energy and most nutrients in a cohort of French-speaking adolescents from the province of Québec. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in an individual's digestive system, hormones, senses of smell and taste, and energy requirement accompanying aging could lead to impaired appetite, but older adults may not notice their risk of nutrient deficiency. When assessing the dietary intake of older adults, it was found that they had more difficulties with short-term recall and open-ended recall and would experience greater fatigue and frustration when compared to younger individuals when completing a lengthy questionnaire. There is a need to develop a brief dietary assessment tool to examine the nutritional needs of older adults. In this study, we aimed to assess the diet of Hong Kong older adults using the short FFQ and examine its reproducibility and relative validity as a dietary assessment tool. Dietary data of 198 older adults were collected via FFQs and three-day dietary records. Correlation analyses, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-tests, and linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relative validity of the short FFQ. In general, the short FFQ was accurate in assessing the intake of phosphorus, water, grains, and wine, as shown by a significant correlation (>0.7) between values reported in the FFQs and dietary records; good agreement (more than 50% of observations belonged to the same quartile) and insignificant differences detected with the one-sample t-tests and linear regression analyses were observed for the above four variables. Additionally, the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, total fat, magnesium, and eggs in terms of the values reported in the FFQs and dietary records showed good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The dietary nutritional status of pregnant women is critical for maintaining the health of both mothers and infants. Food exchange systems have been employed in the nutritional guidance of patients in China, although their application in the dietary guidance of healthy pregnant women is quite limited. This study aimed to develop a novel food exchange system for Chinese pregnant women (NFES-CPW) and evaluate the relative validation of its application. Methods NFES-CPW covers approximately 500 types of food from ten categories and has more elaborate food portion sizes. It established a recommendation index for guiding food selection and used energy, water content, and protein as the exchange basis to balance the supply of energy and important nutrients throughout pregnancy. Furthermore, dietitians used the NFES-CPW and traditional food exchange system to generate new recipes based on the sample recipe. There were 40 derived recipes for each of the two food exchange methods. The food consumption, energy, and key nutrients of each recipe were calculated, and the differences between the two food exchange systems were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test or the Chi-square test. Results The results revealed that compared to those derived from traditional food exchange system, the NFES-CPW derived recipes had a better dietary structure, as evidenced by the intakes of whole-grain cereals, beans excluding soybeans, potatoes, fruits, fish, shrimp and shellfish, as well as eggs (P

Background: The dietary nutritional status of pregnant women is critical for maintaining the health of both mothers and infants. Food exchange systems have been employed in the nutritional guidance of patients in China, although their application in the dietary guidance of healthy pregnant women is quite limited. This study aimed to develop a novel food exchange system for Chinese pregnant women (NFES-CPW) and evaluate the relative validation of its application. Methods: NFES-CPW covers approximately 500 types of food from ten categories and has more elaborate food portion sizes. It established a recommendation index for guiding food selection and used energy, water content, and protein as the exchange basis to balance the supply of energy and important nutrients throughout pregnancy. Furthermore, dietitians used the NFES-CPW and traditional food exchange system to generate new recipes based on the sample recipe. There were 40 derived recipes for each of the two food exchange methods. The food consumption, energy, and key nutrients of each recipe were calculated, and the differences between the two food exchange systems were compared using the Wilcoxon rank sum test or the Chi-square test. Results: The results revealed that compared to those derived from traditional food exchange system, the NFES-CPW derived recipes had a better dietary structure, as evidenced by the intakes of whole-grain cereals, beans excluding soybeans, potatoes, fruits, fish, shrimp and shellfish, as well as eggs (P < 0.05), which were more conducive to reaching the recommended range of balanced dietary pagoda. After calculating energy and nutrients, although these two food exchange systems have similar effects on the dietary energy and macronutrient intake of pregnant women, the intake of micronutrients in NFES-CPW derived recipes was significantly higher than that from the traditional food exchange system, which was more conducive to meeting the dietary requirements of pregnant women. The outstanding improvement are primarily vitamin A, vitamin B2, folic acid, vitamin B12, vitamin C, calcium, iron, and iodine (P < 0.05). Moreover, when compared to recipes obtained from the traditional food exchange system, the error ranges of energy and most nutrients were significantly reduced after employing the NFES-CPW. Conclusions: Therefore, NFES-CPW is an appropriate tool that adheres to Chinese dietary characteristics and can provide suitable dietary guidance to pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The EAT-Lancet Commission proposed an evidence-based global reference diet to improve human health within planetary boundaries. Recently, the Planetary Health Diet Index (PHDI) was developed based on the EAT-Lancet recommendations and validated among Brazilian adults. However, the relative validity of the PHDI in adolescents has yet to be assessed. Thus, we aimed to evaluate the relative validity of the PHDI in European adolescents. Methods: We used cross-sectional data from 1804 adolescents (12.5–17.5 years) enrolled in the Healthy Lifestyle in Europe by Nutrition in Adolescence (HELENA) study. The PHDI (0–150 points) was calculated based on dietary intake data from two non-consecutive 24-h dietary recalls. Associations between the PHDI and usual nutrient intakes, plasma food consumption biomarkers, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet were evaluated using multivariable-adjusted mixed-effects linear regression models. Results: Higher PHDI score was associated with greater intakes of nutrients predominantly from plant-source foods, such as vegetable protein, vitamin E, and folate and with lower intake of nutrients predominately from animal-source foods, such as total and saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein. Furthermore, a higher PHDI score was also positively associated with plasma β-carotene, vitamin C, vitamin D, folate, and ferritin concentrations, while negatively associated with trans-fatty acids concentration. Moreover, higher PHDI was related to a greater adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern. Conclusions: The PHDI showed good relative validity among adolescents in the HELENA study. Hence, future research should assess adherence to the PHDI and long-term health outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Changes in an individual’s digestive system, hormones, senses of smell and taste, and energy requirement accompanying aging could lead to impaired appetite, but older adults may not notice their risk of nutrient deficiency. When assessing the dietary intake of older adults, it was found that they had more difficulties with short-term recall and open-ended recall and would experience greater fatigue and frustration when compared to younger individuals when completing a lengthy questionnaire. There is a need to develop a brief dietary assessment tool to examine the nutritional needs of older adults. In this study, we aimed to assess the diet of Hong Kong older adults using the short FFQ and examine its reproducibility and relative validity as a dietary assessment tool. Dietary data of 198 older adults were collected via FFQs and three-day dietary records. Correlation analyses, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-tests, and linear regression analyses were used to evaluate the relative validity of the short FFQ. In general, the short FFQ was accurate in assessing the intake of phosphorus, water, grains, and wine, as shown by a significant correlation (>0.7) between values reported in the FFQs and dietary records; good agreement (more than 50% of observations belonged to the same quartile) and insignificant differences detected with the one-sample t-tests and linear regression analyses were observed for the above four variables. Additionally, the intake of proteins, carbohydrates, total fat, magnesium, and eggs in terms of the values reported in the FFQs and dietary records showed good agreement.

• A (physically) low-fidelity train-driving simulator is well suited for measuring actual train-driving performance. • COVID-19 restrictions affected train-driver students' performance negatively. • Relative validity was found between number of driving errors in a simulator test and internship grades given by supervisors. Although common in other industries, such as the automotive sector, no train-driving validation study has been found in the existing literature. The present paper intends to fill that gap by comparing the results of train-driving performance in a physically low-fidelity but highly functional simulator with real train-driving performance. Thirty-four train driver students in the final part of their basic education were assessed in a 45-minute simulator test using the number of driving errors as the performance indicator. The results were compared with the performance at 11 weeks of internship as measured by supervisors grading according to a standard procedure. One of the classes (17 to-be drivers) was affected by restrictions related to COVID-19, which led to a shortened internship and distance learning during parts of the internship. The study also intended to measure the effect of the restrictions and the types of errors the drivers made by comparing the two classes. A significant correlation was found between the number of driving errors and internship grades, r = −0.45, p <.05. The results also revealed that COVID-19 restrictions negatively affected performance, as the students from Class B made significantly more driving errors and obtained a lower internship grade than those from Class A. This paper shows that this type of low-fidelity simulator is well suited for measuring real train-driving performance. A measurement method that can predict long-term driving should have implications for both research and practical usability. Researchers can use this for studying the effects of, for example, different training methods, while train operation companies can use the method to test their drivers' skills and intervene before an actual accident occurs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with lower socioeconomic status are more vulnerable in securing good nutritional quality. It was also found that people who had received a lower education level had greater difficulty in completing the conventional dietary assessment such as a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Previous studies have demonstrated the validity of a short FFQ in Hong Kong's pregnant women, but its validity among a wider community was still unknown. For the present study, we aimed to validate a short FFQ among disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong. Amongst 103 individuals participating in a dietary intervention programme, their dietary data were collected by FFQs and three-day dietary records. Relative validity was assessed by correlation analysis, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-test, and linear regression. In general, water and total energy intake had significant correlations (0.77 for crude water intake and 0.87 for crude total energy intake) between values reported by FFQ and dietary records, good agreement (both with over 50% of observations falling into the same quartile), and insignificant differences between assessment methods reported by one-sample t-test and linear regression. Meanwhile, several nutrients had good agreement in terms of the values reported by FFQ and dietary records, such as energy from total fat, carbohydrates, total fat, cholesterol, phosphorus, and potassium. The results of this study demonstrated that the short version FFQ could be a convenient assessment tool of multiple dietary behaviors, especially in total energy and water intakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is designed to capture an individual's habitual dietary intake and is the most applied method in nutritional epidemiology. Our aim was to assess the relative validity and reproducibility of the FFQ used in the Diet, Cancer, and Health—Next Generations cohort (DCH-NG). We included 415 Danish women and men aged 18–67 years. Spearman's correlations coefficients, Bland–Altman limits of agreement and cross-classification between dietary intakes estimated from the FFQ administered at baseline (FFQbaseline), and the mean of three 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) and the FFQ administered after 12 months (FFQ12 months) were determined. Nutrient intakes were energy-adjusted by Nutrient Density and Residual methods. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.18–0.58 for energy and energy-adjusted nutrient intakes, and the percentage of participants classified into the same quartile ranged from 28–47% between the FFQbaseline and the 24-HDRs. For the FFQ12 months compared with FFQbaseline, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.52–0.88 for intakes of energy, energy-adjusted nutrients, and food groups, and the proportion of participants classified into the same quartiles ranged from 43–69%. Overall, the FFQ provided a satisfactory ranking of individuals according to energy, nutrient, and food group intakes, making the FFQ suitable for use in epidemiological studies investigating diet in relation to disease outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to assess the concordance and ranking ability of a non-quantitative 33-item dietary screener developed to assess the diet of young adults in Norway, ‘MyFoodMonth 1.1’, compared to a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Data were collected in a cross-sectional dietary survey evaluating the diets of students at the University of Agder, in southern Norway. The students were asked to complete both a dietary screener and an FFQ. Data collection was carried out from September to December 2020. Participants were first-year university students aged ≥18 years familiar with Scandinavian language. Almost half of the eligible sample (n 344) was excluded due to not completing the FFQ, compared to 1⋅7 % not completing the dietary screener, resulting in 172 (66 % female) participants with a median age of 21 years. For most items of the dietary screener (n 27/33, 82 %), all aspects of diet quality and components of the Diet Quality Score showed moderate-to-strong concordance with the FFQ evaluated using Kendall’s tau-b analyses (t > 0⋅31), supported by visual inspection of box and whisker plots and descriptive ranking ability in a cross-tabulation. There was little evidence to suggest that concordance was dependent on sex. The concordance and ranking ability of ‘MyFoodMonth 1.1’ is considered satisfactory compared to a semi-quantitative FFQ. This rapid dietary assessment instrument presents a valuable addition to traditional instruments and a possible solution to recruit hard-to-reach parts of the population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of the study was to assess the concordance and ranking ability of a non-quantitative 33-item dietary screener developed to assess the diet of young adults in Norway, ‘MyFoodMonth 1.1’, compared to a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Data were collected in a cross-sectional dietary survey evaluating the diets of students at the University of Agder, in southern Norway. The students were asked to complete both a dietary screener and an FFQ. Data collection was carried out from September to December 2020. Participants were first-year university students aged ≥18 years familiar with Scandinavian language. Almost half of the eligible sample (n 344) was excluded due to not completing the FFQ, compared to 1⋅7 % not completing the dietary screener, resulting in 172 (66 % female) participants with a median age of 21 years. For most items of the dietary screener (n 27/33, 82 %), all aspects of diet quality and components of the Diet Quality Score showed moderate-to-strong concordance with the FFQ evaluated using Kendall's tau-b analyses (t > 0⋅31), supported by visual inspection of box and whisker plots and descriptive ranking ability in a cross-tabulation. There was little evidence to suggest that concordance was dependent on sex. The concordance and ranking ability of ‘MyFoodMonth 1.1’ is considered satisfactory compared to a semi-quantitative FFQ. This rapid dietary assessment instrument presents a valuable addition to traditional instruments and a possible solution to recruit hard-to-reach parts of the population.

A variety of statistical approaches in nutritional epidemiology have been developed to enhance the precision of dietary variables derived from longitudinal questionnaires. Correlation with biomarkers is often used to assess the relative validity of these different approaches, however, validated biomarkers do not always exist and are costly and laborious to collect. We present a novel high-throughput approach which utilizes the modest but importantly non-zero influence of genetic variation on variation in dietary intake to compare different statistical transformations of dietary variables. Specifically, we compare the heritability of crude averages with Empirical Bayes weighted averages for 302 correlated dietary variables from multiple 24-hour recall questionnaires in 177 K individuals in UK Biobank. Overall, the crude averages for frequency of consumption are more heritable than their Empirical Bayes counterparts only when the reliability of that item across questionnaires is high (measured by intra-class correlation), otherwise, the Empirical Bayes approach (for both unreliably measured frequencies and for average quantities independent of reliability) leads to higher heritability estimates. We also find that the more heritable versions of each dietary variable lead to stronger underlying statistical associations with specific genetic loci, many of which have well-known mechanisms, further supporting heritability as an alternative metric for relative validity in nutritional epidemiology and beyond.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative validity of the Meal-based Diet History Questionnaire (MDHQ) for estimating nutrient intake. Dietary data were obtained from 111 Japanese women and 111 Japanese men, using the online MDHQ and the 4-non-consecutive-day weighed dietary record (DR). The number of nutrients (total n = 46) showing no significant mean differences between estimates from the online MDHQ and DR (with energy adjustment by the density model) was 17 among women and 12 among men. The median value (25th and 75th percentiles) of the Pearson correlation coefficients between the online MDHQ and DR estimates was 0.54 (0.35–0.57) among women and 0.45 (0.25–0.53) among men. Bland–Altman plots for energy-providing nutrients indicated wide limits of agreement (and proportional bias for protein) with overall underestimation of protein and fat and overestimation of carbohydrate by the online MDHQ. Similar results were found when the paper version of the MDHQ (completed after the DR) was examined. For example, the median value of the Pearson correlation coefficients was 0.54 for women and 0.45 for men. This study suggests that the MDHQ has an acceptable ability to rank individuals according to intakes of a wide range of nutrients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background There is a gap in data on dietary intake of adolescents in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Traditional methods for dietary assessment are resource intensive and lack accuracy with regard to portion-size estimation. Technology-assisted dietary assessment tools have been proposed but few have been validated for feasibility of use in LMICs. Objectives We assessed the relative validity of FRANI (Food Recognition Assistance and Nudging Insights), a mobile artificial intelligence (AI) application for dietary assessment in adolescent females (n  = 36) aged 12–18 y in Vietnam, against a weighed records (WR) standard and compared FRANI performance with a multi-pass 24-h recall (24HR). Methods Dietary intake was assessed using 3 methods: FRANI, WR, and 24HRs undertaken on 3 nonconsecutive days. Equivalence of nutrient intakes was tested using mixed-effects models adjusting for repeated measures, using 10%, 15%, and 20% bounds. The concordance correlation coefficient (CCC) was used to assess the agreement between methods. Sources of errors were identified for memory and portion-size estimation bias. Results Equivalence between the FRANI app and WR was determined at the 10% bound for energy, protein, and fat and 4 nutrients (iron, riboflavin, vitamin B-6, and zinc), and at 15% and 20% bounds for carbohydrate, calcium, vitamin C, thiamin, niacin, and folate. Similar results were observed for differences between 24HRs and WR with a 20% equivalent bound for all nutrients except for vitamin A. The CCCs between FRANI and WR (0.60, 0.81) were slightly lower between 24HRs and WR (0.70, 0.89) for energy and most nutrients. Memory error (food omissions or intrusions) was ∼21%, with no clear pattern apparent on portion-size estimation bias for foods. Conclusions AI-assisted dietary assessment and 24HRs accurately estimate nutrient intake in adolescent females when compared with WR. Errors could be reduced with further improvements in AI-assisted food recognition and portion estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals with lower socioeconomic status are more vulnerable in securing good nutritional quality. It was also found that people who had received a lower education level had greater difficulty in completing the conventional dietary assessment such as a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Previous studies have demonstrated the validity of a short FFQ in Hong Kong’s pregnant women, but its validity among a wider community was still unknown. For the present study, we aimed to validate a short FFQ among disadvantaged communities in Hong Kong. Amongst 103 individuals participating in a dietary intervention programme, their dietary data were collected by FFQs and three-day dietary records. Relative validity was assessed by correlation analysis, cross-tabulation, one-sample t-test, and linear regression. In general, water and total energy intake had significant correlations (0.77 for crude water intake and 0.87 for crude total energy intake) between values reported by FFQ and dietary records, good agreement (both with over 50% of observations falling into the same quartile), and insignificant differences between assessment methods reported by one-sample t-test and linear regression. Meanwhile, several nutrients had good agreement in terms of the values reported by FFQ and dietary records, such as energy from total fat, carbohydrates, total fat, cholesterol, phosphorus, and potassium. The results of this study demonstrated that the short version FFQ could be a convenient assessment tool of multiple dietary behaviors, especially in total energy and water intakes.

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) are associated with poor diet quality and chronic diseases. UPFs fall into 1 of the following 4 groups classified according to the extent and purpose of processing: group 1 is unprocessed or minimally processed foods (MPFs); group 2 is processed culinary ingredients; group 3 is processed foods; and group 4 is UPFs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) compared with two 24-hour dietary recalls (24DRs) 'to estimate dietary intake per NOVA food group in Mexican children and adolescents. This study is a secondary analysis of dietary data from a subsample of children and adolescents who participated in the 2012 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey. The study participants were 217 children (aged 5 through 11 years) and 165 adolescents (aged 12 through 19 years) with complete information for the SFFQ and two 24DRs. Daily averages of energy intake and percent of energy intake for each NOVA category were calculated using the SFFQ and two 24DRs. To assess relative validity, the SFFQ was compared with two 24DRs to estimate dietary intake per NOVA food group. Mean differences, Spearman correlations, intraclass correlations coefficients (ICCs), and Bland–Altman plots for continuous variables and weighted κ for ordinal variables were calculated. For percentage of energy intake, ICCs in children and adolescents were moderate for MPFs (ICC = 0.47 and ICC = 0.56, respectively) and UPFs (ICC = 0.53 and ICC = 0.57, respectively). Bland–Altman plots indicated reasonably consistent agreement for UPFs and MPFs groups in children and adolescents. Classification by quintiles was acceptable in all groups. Data from this study indicated reasonable relative validity of the SFFQ to rank the percentage of energy intake from MPFs and UPFs in Mexican children and adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing pregnant women's iron intake using dietary patterns would provide information that considers dietary relationships with other nutrients and their sources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and relative validity of a Qualitative Food Frequency Questionnaire to identify iron-related dietary patterns (FeP-FFQ) among Mexican pregnant women. A convenience sample of pregnant women (n = 110) completed two FeP-FFQ (FeP-FFQ1 and FeP-FFQ2) and a 3-day diet record (3DDR). Foods appearing in the 3DDR were classified into the same food groupings as the FeP-FFQ, and most consumed foods were identified. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine dietary patterns. Scores were compared (FeP-FFQ for reproducibility and FeP-FFQ1 vs. 3DDR for validity) through intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), cross-classification, Bland–Altman analysis, and weighed Cohen kappa (κw), using dietary patterns scores tertiles. Two dietary patterns were identified: "healthy" and "processed foods and dairy". ICCs (p < 0.01) for "healthy" pattern and "processed foods and dairy" pattern were 0.76 for and 0.71 for reproducibility, and 0.36 and 0.37 for validity, respectively. Cross-classification and Bland–Altman analysis showed good agreement for reproducibility and validity; κw values showed moderate agreement for reproducibility and low agreement for validity. In conclusion, the FeP-FFQ showed good indicators of reproducibility and validity to identify dietary patterns related to iron intake among pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is designed to capture an individual’s habitual dietary intake and is the most applied method in nutritional epidemiology. Our aim was to assess the relative validity and reproducibility of the FFQ used in the Diet, Cancer, and Health—Next Generations cohort (DCH-NG). We included 415 Danish women and men aged 18–67 years. Spearman’s correlations coefficients, Bland–Altman limits of agreement and cross-classification between dietary intakes estimated from the FFQ administered at baseline (FFQbaseline), and the mean of three 24-h dietary recalls (24-HDRs) and the FFQ administered after 12 months (FFQ12 months) were determined. Nutrient intakes were energy-adjusted by Nutrient Density and Residual methods. Correlation coefficients ranged from 0.18–0.58 for energy and energy-adjusted nutrient intakes, and the percentage of participants classified into the same quartile ranged from 28–47% between the FFQbaseline and the 24-HDRs. For the FFQ12 months compared with FFQbaseline, correlation coefficients ranged from 0.52–0.88 for intakes of energy, energy-adjusted nutrients, and food groups, and the proportion of participants classified into the same quartiles ranged from 43–69%. Overall, the FFQ provided a satisfactory ranking of individuals according to energy, nutrient, and food group intakes, making the FFQ suitable for use in epidemiological studies investigating diet in relation to disease outcomes.

Objective: To evaluate the performance of an FFQ for estimating dietary contributions of NOVA groups to individuals' diets with a specific focus on ultra-processed foods (UPF) compared with a single 24-h dietary recall (24HR). Design: All consumed foods and beverages assess with both a 109-item FFQ and a single 24HR were classified into one of four NOVA groups: natural or minimally processed foods (MPF), processed culinary ingredients (PCI), processed foods (PF) and UPF. The contributions of each NOVA group to daily intakes of energy, protein, fat, saturated fat, carbohydrate, fibre and Na were expressed as crude intake, energy-adjusted intake and percentage intake. Mean differences, correlation coefficients and joint classification were calculated for intakes of energy and nutrients from each NOVA group between the FFQ and the 24HR. Setting: The Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2016. Participants: Adults aged 19–64 years (n 3189). Results: The smallest group-mean differences between the two methods were observed in UPF (2–40 %). The greatest average Pearson's correlation coefficients between the FFQ and 24HR were shown in dietary contributions of UPF (r = 0·22–0·25 for MPF; r = 0·02–0·05 for PCI; r = 0·11–0·18 for PF; r = 0·26–0·30 for UPF). The greatest agreement in quartile classification between the FFQ and the 24HR was observed in dietary contributions of UPF (70·0–71·5 % for MPF; 64·2–68·8 % for PCI; 66·9–69·2 % for PF; 71·8–73·9 % for UPF). Conclusions: The use of the FFQ for estimating absolute intake of UPF may not be encouraged in its current form, but it still may be used for relative comparisons such as quantile categorisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BackgroundUltra-processed foods are recognized as indicators of an unhealthy diet in epidemiological studies. In addition to ultra-processed foods, the NOVA food classification system identifies three other groups with less processing. Unprocessed foods that, together with minimally processed foods (MPF), make NOVA group 1, NOVA group 2 is processed culinary ingredients, and NOVA group 3 is processed foods.ObjectiveTo assess the relative validity of the semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) to estimate the energy intake for each group NOVA classification system by comparing it with two 24 h-dietary-recall (24DRs) Mexican adults.MethodsWe analyzed dietary information from 226 adults included

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative validity of the Meal-based Diet History Questionnaire (MDHQ) for estimating nutrient intake. Dietary data were obtained from 111 Japanese women and 111 Japanese men, using the online MDHQ and the 4-non-consecutive-day weighed dietary record (DR). The number of nutrients (total n = 46) showing no significant mean differences between estimates from the online MDHQ and DR (with energy adjustment by the density model) was 17 among women and 12 among men. The median value (25th and 75th percentiles) of the Pearson correlation coefficients between the online MDHQ and DR estimates was 0.54 (0.35–0.57) among women and 0.45 (0.25–0.53) among men. Bland–Altman plots for energy-providing nutrients indicated wide limits of agreement (and proportional bias for protein) with overall underestimation of protein and fat and overestimation of carbohydrate by the online MDHQ. Similar results were found when the paper version of the MDHQ (completed after the DR) was examined. For example, the median value of the Pearson correlation coefficients was 0.54 for women and 0.45 for men. This study suggests that the MDHQ has an acceptable ability to rank individuals according to intakes of a wide range of nutrients.

Analyzing pregnant women’s iron intake using dietary patterns would provide information that considers dietary relationships with other nutrients and their sources. The objective of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and relative validity of a Qualitative Food Frequency Questionnaire to identify iron-related dietary patterns (FeP-FFQ) among Mexican pregnant women. A convenience sample of pregnant women (n = 110) completed two FeP-FFQ (FeP-FFQ1 and FeP-FFQ2) and a 3-day diet record (3DDR). Foods appearing in the 3DDR were classified into the same food groupings as the FeP-FFQ, and most consumed foods were identified. Exploratory factor analysis was used to determine dietary patterns. Scores were compared (FeP-FFQ for reproducibility and FeP-FFQ1 vs. 3DDR for validity) through intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), cross-classification, Bland–Altman analysis, and weighed Cohen kappa (κw), using dietary patterns scores tertiles. Two dietary patterns were identified: “healthy” and “processed foods and dairy”. ICCs (p < 0.01) for “healthy” pattern and “processed foods and dairy” pattern were 0.76 for and 0.71 for reproducibility, and 0.36 and 0.37 for validity, respectively. Cross-classification and Bland–Altman analysis showed good agreement for reproducibility and validity; κw values showed moderate agreement for reproducibility and low agreement for validity. In conclusion, the FeP-FFQ showed good indicators of reproducibility and validity to identify dietary patterns related to iron intake among pregnant women.

Background: Valid assessment tools are needed when investigating adherence to national dietary and lifestyle guidelines., Objective: The relative validity of the new digital food frequency questionnaire, the DIGIKOST-FFQ, against 7-day weighed food records and activity sensors was investigated., Methods: In total, 77 participants were included in the validation study and completed the DIGIKOST-FFQ and the weighed food record, and of these, 56 (73%) also used the activity sensors. The DIGIKOST-FFQ estimates the intake of foods according to the Norwegian food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) in addition to lifestyle factors., Results: At the group level, the DIGIKOST-FFQ showed good validity in estimating intakes according to the Norwegian FBDG. The median differences were small and well below portion sizes for all foods except "water" (median difference 230 g/day). The DIGIKOST-FFQ was able to rank individual intakes for all foods (r=0.2-0.7). However, ranking estimates of vegetable intakes should be interpreted with caution. Between 69% and 88% of the participants were classified into the same or adjacent quartile for foods and between 71% and 82% for different activity intensities. The Bland-Altman plots showed acceptable agreements between DIGIKOST-FFQ and the reference methods. The absolute amount of time in "moderate to vigorous intensity" was underestimated with the DIGIKOST-FFQ. However, estimated time in "moderate to vigorous intensity," "vigorous intensity," and "sedentary time" showed acceptable correlations and good agreement between the methods. The DIGIKOST-FFQ was able to identify adherence to the Norwegian FBDG and physical activity recommendations., Conclusions: The DIGIKOST-FFQ gave valid estimates of dietary intakes and was able to identify individuals with different degrees of adherence to the Norwegian FBDG and physical activity recommendations. Moderate physical activity was underreported, water was overreported, and vegetables showed poor correlation, which are important to consider when interpreting the data. Good agreement was observed between the methods in estimating dietary intakes and time in "moderate to vigorous physical activity," "sedentary time," and "sleep.", (©Hege Berg Henriksen, Markus Dines Knudsen, Anette Hjartåker, Rune Blomhoff, Monica Hauger Carlsen. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 30.04.2024.)

Background: Dietary intake assessment is an integral part of addressing suboptimal dietary intakes. Existing food-based methods are time-consuming and burdensome for users to report the individual foods consumed at each meal. However, ease of use is the most important feature for individuals choosing a nutrition or diet app. Intakes of whole meals can be reported in a manner that is less burdensome than reporting individual foods. No study has developed a method of dietary intake assessment where individuals report their dietary intakes as whole meals rather than individual foods., Objective: This study aims to develop a novel, meal-based method of dietary intake assessment and test its ability to estimate nutrient intakes compared with that of a web-based, 24-hour recall (24HR)., Methods: Participants completed a web-based, generic meal-based recall. This involved, for each meal type (breakfast, light meal, main meal, snack, and beverage), choosing from a selection of meal images those that most represented their intakes during the previous day. Meal images were based on generic meals from a previous study that were representative of the actual meal intakes in Ireland. Participants also completed a web-based 24HR. Both methods were completed on the same day, 3 hours apart. In a crossover design, participants were randomized in terms of which method they completed first. Then, 2 weeks after the first dietary assessments, participants repeated the process in the reverse order. Estimates of mean daily nutrient intakes and the categorization of individuals according to nutrient-based guidelines (eg, low, adequate, and high) were compared between the 2 methods. P values of less than .05 were considered statistically significant., Results: In total, 161 participants completed the study. For the 23 nutrient variables compared, the median percentage difference between the 2 methods was 7.6% (IQR 2.6%-13.2%), with P values ranging from <.001 to .97, and out of 23 variables, effect sizes for the differences were small for 19 (83%) variables, moderate for 2 (9%) variables, and large for 2 (9%) variables. Correlation coefficients were statistically significant (P<.05) for 18 (78%) of the 23 variables. Statistically significant correlations ranged from 0.16 to 0.45, with median correlation of 0.32 (IQR 0.25-0.40). When participants were classified according to nutrient-based guidelines, the proportion of individuals who were classified into the same category ranged from 52.8% (85/161) to 84.5% (136/161)., Conclusions: A generic meal-based method of dietary intake assessment provides estimates of nutrient intake comparable with those provided by a web-based 24HR but with varying levels of agreement among nutrients. Further studies are required to refine and improve the generic recall across a range of nutrients. Future studies will consider user experience including the potential feasibility of incorporating image recognition of whole meals into the generic recall., (©Cathal O'Hara, Eileen R Gibney. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (https://www.jmir.org), 14.02.2024.)

Background: In the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey, dietary intake has been assessed since 2003 through 24-hour dietary recalls using the GloboDiet software. A new self-administered smartphone food record app called DitEetIk! was developed for potential use in future surveys., Objective: This study aims to evaluate the data collected using the DitEetIk! app and its relative validity for food group, energy, and nutrient intake compared with the previous dietary assessment method (GloboDiet 24-hour dietary recalls)., Methods: A total of 300 participants aged 18 to 79 years were recruited from a consumer panel. Participants were asked to keep a record of their consumption using the DitEetIk! app on 3 nonconsecutive days. Trained dietitians conducted a 24-hour dietary recall interview by telephone using the GloboDiet software (International Agency for Research on Cancer) regarding 1 of 3 DitEetIk! recording days. Nutrient intake was calculated using the NEVO database (version 2021/7.0). Relative validity was studied by comparing data from GloboDiet 24-hour dietary recalls and the DitEetIk app for the same day. Participants with implausible records, defined as days with energy intake of <0.6 or >3.0 basal metabolic rate, were excluded from the analyses. For 19 food groups and 29 nutrients, differences in median intake were assessed using the Wilcoxon signed rank test, and Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated. Bland-Altman plots with mean differences and 95% limits of agreement were created for energy intake and the contribution to energy intake from fat, carbohydrates, and protein., Results: A total of 227 participants completed a combination of a DitEetIk! app recording day and a 24-hour dietary recall interview for the same day. Of this group, 211 participants (n=104, 49.3% men and n=107, 50.7% women) had plausible recording days. Of all recorded food items, 12.8% (114/894) were entered via food barcode scanning, and 18.9% (169/894) were searched at the brand level. For 31% (5/16) of the food groups, the median intake assessed using the DitEetIk! app was >10% lower than that assessed using 24-hour dietary recalls; this was the case for fruit (P=.005), added fats (P=.001), milk and milk products (P=.02), cereal products (P=.01), and sauces (P<.001). This was also the case for 14% (4/29) of the nutrients (all P<.001). Regarding mean intake, differences were generally smaller. Regarding energy intake, the mean difference and 95% limits of agreement were 14 kcal (-1096 to 1124). Spearman correlation coefficients between intake assessed using the DitEetIk! app and 24-hour dietary recalls ranged from 0.48 to 0.88 (median 0.78) for food groups and from 0.58 to 0.90 (median 0.72) for nutrients., Conclusions: Compared with GloboDiet 24-hour dietary recalls, the DitEetIk! app assessed similar mean energy intake levels but somewhat lower median intake levels for several food groups and nutrients., (©Marga Ocké, Ceciel Simone Dinnissen, Coline van den Bogaard, Marja Beukers, José Drijvers, Eline Sanderman-Nawijn, Caroline van Rossum, Ido Toxopeus. Originally published in JMIR mHealth and uHealth (https://mhealth.jmir.org), 09.02.2024.)

• Interaction effects amongst outcome compounds were examined in humans. • Participants completed a causal or diagnostic learning task. • An outcome overshadowing effect was demonstrated in Experiment 1. • Outcome relative validity was not observed in Experiments 2 and 3. • Task type had little impact on the presence of interaction effects. Overshadowing and relative validity constitute two phenomena that inspired the development of the Rescorla-Wagner model in 1972. They demonstrate that cues will interact with one another for an association with the presence or absence of an outcome. Here, three experiments sought to explore whether these two effects extended to outcomes using a food allergist paradigm with human participants. In Experiment 1 (overshadowing) participants received trials in which a cue was followed by a compound of two outcomes (A-O1O2). Test trials revealed that participants learned less about the A-O2 association than they did between a control cue C, which had been paired with O2 in isolation (C-O2) in training – thus demonstrating an outcome overshadowing effect. In Experiment 2 (relative validity) participants received true discrimination trials, in which A was paired with an O1O3 compound and B was paired with an O2O3 compound, and pseudo discrimination trials, in which C and D were paired on 50% of the trials with an O4O6 compound and on the remaining trials with an O5O6 compound. Consequently, O3 is less well predicted by A and B relative to O1 and O2, whereas O6 is equally well predicted by C and D relative to O4 and O5. Despite the relative validity of A and B for O3 being less than the relative validity of C and D for O6, the ratings of A and B for O3 were the same as C and D for O6. This failure to observe an outcome relative validity effect was reproduced in Experiment 3, which replicated Experiment 2, but with an adjustment made to the number of training trials given to participants. These results are discussed in terms of a real-time development of the Rescorla-Wagner model provided by Wagner (1981). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of statistical approaches in nutritional epidemiology have been developed to enhance the precision of dietary variables derived from longitudinal questionnaires. Correlation with biomarkers is often used to assess the relative validity of these different approaches, however, validated biomarkers do not always exist and are costly and laborious to collect. We present a novel high-throughput approach which utilizes the modest but importantly non-zero influence of genetic variation on variation in dietary intake to compare different statistical transformations of dietary variables. Specifically, we compare the heritability of crude averages with Empirical Bayes weighted averages for 302 correlated dietary variables from multiple 24-hour recall questionnaires in 177 K individuals in UK Biobank. Overall, the crude averages for frequency of consumption are more heritable than their Empirical Bayes counterparts only when the reliability of that item across questionnaires is high (measured by intra-class correlation), otherwise, the Empirical Bayes approach (for both unreliably measured frequencies and for average quantities independent of reliability) leads to higher heritability estimates. We also find that the more heritable versions of each dietary variable lead to stronger underlying statistical associations with specific genetic loci, many of which have well-known mechanisms, further supporting heritability as an alternative metric for relative validity in nutritional epidemiology and beyond., Competing Interests: JNH has equity in Camp4 Therapeutics. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Cole, Westerman, Manning, Florez and Hirschhorn.)

Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are commonly used dietary assessment tools. The aim was to assess the relative validity of a 15-item FFQ, designed for the screening of poor dietary patterns with a validated diet history (DH). The study population was derived from the Gothenburg H70 Birth Cohort Studies. The DH registrations were harmonized in accordance with the FFQ frequencies. The agreement was assessed by Cohen's kappa with corresponding confidence intervals (CI) for the frequency and categorical variables. Bland–Altman plots were used for the numeric variables. The study comprised data from 848 individuals (55.2% women). Overall, there was high agreement between the methods, with the exact and adjacent level of agreement over 80% for eight variables. The proportion attributed to the opposite frequency was fairly low for most of the frequency variables. Most of the kappa values were in fair or moderate agreement. The highest kappa values were calculated for the type of cooking fat (k = 0.68, CI = 0.63–0.72) and sandwich spread (k = 0.55, CI = 0.49–0.53), and the lowest for type of bread (0.13, CI = 0.07–0.20) and sweets (0.22 CI = 0.18–0.27). In conclusion, the FFQ showed overall good agreement compared with the DH. We, therefore, think it, with some improvements, could serve as a simple screening tool for poor dietary patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]