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We conducted an online survey to examine the preference, expected burden, and willingness of people to use four different methods of assessing food and alcohol intake such as food/drink record, 24-h recall, Remote Food Photography Method© (RFPM, via SmartIntake® app), and a novel app (PortionSize®) that allows the in-app portion size estimation of foods/drinks by the user. For food (N = 1959) and alcohol (N = 466) intake assessment, 67.3% and 63.3%, respectively, preferred the RFPM/SmartIntake®, 51.9% and 53.4% preferred PortionSize®, 48.0% and 49.3% the food records, and 32.9% and 33.9% the 24-h recalls (difference in preference across all methods was p &lt, 0.001 for food and alcohol intake). Ratings of burden and preference of methods were virtually superimposable, and we found strong correlations between high preference and low expected burden for all methods (all ρ ≥ 0.82, all p &lt, 0.001). Willingness (mean (SD)) to use the RFPM/SmartIntake® (food: 6.6 (2.0), alcohol: 6.4 (2.4)) was greater than PortionSize® (food: 6.0 (2.2), alcohol: 6.0 (2.4), 0.001) and 24-h recalls (food: 6.1 (2.2), alcohol: 5.7 (2.7), p &lt, 0.001), but not different from food records (food: 6.6 (2.0), alcohol: 6.5 (2.3), all p ≥ 0.33). Our results can be used in conjunction with existing data on the reliability and validity of these methods in order to inform the selection of methods for the assessment of food and alcohol intake.

Although intermittent calorie restriction (ICR) has become popular as an alternative weight loss strategy to continuous calorie restriction (CCR), there is insufficient evidence on diet quality during ICR and on its feasibility over longer time periods. Thus, we compared dietary composition and adherence between ICR and CCR in a follow-up analysis of a randomized trial. A total of 98 participants with overweight or obesity [BMI (kg/m2) 25–39.9, 35–65 years, 49% females] were randomly assigned to ICR, operationalized as a “5:2 diet” (energy intake: ~100% on five non-restricted (NR) days, ~25% on two restricted (R) days), or CCR (daily energy intake: ~80%). The trial included a 12-week (wk) intervention phase, and follow-up assessments at wk24, wk50 and wk102. Apart from a higher proportion of energy intake from protein with ICR vs. CCR during the intervention (wk2: p &lt, 0.001, wk12: p = 0.002), there were no significant differences with respect to changes in dietary composition over time between the groups, while overall adherence to the interventions appeared to be good. No significant difference between ICR and CCR regarding weight change at wk102 was observed (p = 0.63). However, self-reported adherence was worse for ICR than CCR, with 71.1% vs. 32.5% of the participants reporting not to or only rarely have followed the regimen to which they were assigned between wk50 and wk102. These results indicate that within a weight management setting, ICR and CCR were equivalent in achieving modest weight loss over two years while affecting dietary composition in a comparable manner.

Previous research has identified a possible association between vitamin K intake and cardiometabolic disease. This could mean that the assessment of vitamin K intake is a meaningful tool when monitoring individuals with preexisting cardiovascular disease. Sixty chronic stroke survivors (men and women, body mass index (BMI) 30.36 &plusmn, 6.61 kg/m2, age 61.7 &plusmn, 7.2 years) completed food records which were analyzed for energy, macronutrient, micronutrient, and food group servings. Participants were divided into two groups: below vitamin K recommendation (BEL, n = 49) and met vitamin K recommendation (MET, n = 11). Energy and macronutrient intake did not differ between groups (all p &gt, 0.127). Vegetable intake was higher in the MET group (p = 0.0001). Vitamin K intake was higher in the MET group (p = 0.0001). Calcium (p = 0.003), vitamin A (p = 0.007), and vitamin E (p = 0.005) intakes were higher in the MET group. There were no differences in sodium, potassium, vitamin D, vitamin C, and iron intakes between groups (all p &gt, 0.212). In this sample of chronic stroke survivors, 82% reported consuming below the Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) for vitamin K. Given that the majority of this study population did not reach the DRI for vitamin K, it is advisable to promote the adequate intake of food rich in vitamin K. Further work is needed to determine the significance of low vitamin K intake in this population.

We performed a 3-year follow-up of the children enrolled into the Nutrintake Study to evaluate the changes of anthropometry and nutrient intake in aging infants and toddlers. Nutrient intake was assessed using a 7-day weighted food-diary. Of the 390 Nutrintake children, 164 (42%) participated in the present study. Their median (IQR) age was 54 (48; 66) months and their anthropometrical status, expressed as standard deviation scores, remained stable during the follow-up. During the same period, there was no biologically relevant change in the intake of macronutrients expressed as percentage of energy while median increases of 757 mg/day, 0.7 mg/day and 3.1 g/1000 kcal per day were detected for sodium, iron and fibre, respectively. As compared to the Italian reference standards, the Nutrintake children continued to show at the 3-year follow-up an excessive intake of simple carbohydrates, proteins, sodium, and a low intake of iron and fibre.

We designed an image-based dietary assessment tool called COFIT, which means &ldquo, fit together&rdquo, and pilot-tested it in the Taipei Puberty Longitudinal Study (TPLS). Children aged 6&ndash, 17 years were invited to use COFIT over three days for recording all instances of eating in addition to maintaining written food records (FR). Spearman&rsquo, s correlation and Bland&ndash, Altman analysis were used to compare the intake of macronutrients and micronutrients estimated using the image-based dietary assessment and the FR method. Intra-class correlation coefficients were used to estimate reliability between dietitians. In the final analysis, 23 children (mean age: 10.47 &plusmn, 0.47 years) with complete data obtained using two dietary assessment methods were included. Reliability among dietitians was high. Most assessments of macronutrients and micronutrients revealed moderate correlations between the two methods (range: 0.27&ndash, 0.94), moreover, no significant differences in nutrients assessments were observed between the two methods, except for energy and fat. The average difference in energy intake between the methods was 194 kcal/day. Most limits of agreement were within an acceptable range. The Bland&ndash, Altman plots showed robust agreement with minimum bias. The limitation was the small sample size and not dividing the population into children and teenagers since the two groups may have different food consumption habits. Overall, the results showed that the image-based assessment tool is suitable for assessing children&rsquo, s dietary intake of macronutrients and micronutrients during pubertal growth.

The role of taste perception, its relationship with oral microbiota composition, and their putative link with eating habits and food intake were the focus of the present study. A sample of 59 reportedly healthy adults (27 male, 32 female, age: 23.3 &plusmn, 2.6 years) were recruited for the study and taste thresholds for basic tastes, food intake, and oral microbiota composition were evaluated. Differences in taste perception were associated with different habitual food consumption (i.e., frequency) and actual intake. Subjects who were orally hyposensitive to salty taste reported consuming more bakery and salty baked products, saturated-fat-rich products, and soft drinks than hypersensitive subjects. Subjects hyposensitive to sweet taste reported consuming more frequently sweets and desserts than the hypersensitive group. Moreover, subjects hypersensitive to bitter taste showed higher total energy and carbohydrate intakes compared to those who perceived the solution as less bitter. Some bacterial taxa on tongue dorsum were associated with gustatory functions and with vegetable-rich (e.g., Prevotella) or protein/fat-rich diets (e.g., Clostridia). Future studies will be pivotal to confirm the hypothesis and the potential exploitation of oral microbiome as biomarker of long-term consumption of healthy or unhealthy diets.

Background Measurement of multiple food intake exposure biomarkers in urine may offer an objective method for monitoring diet. The potential of spot and cumulative urine samples that have reduced burden on participants as replacements for 24-h urine collections has not been evaluated. Objective The aim of this study was to determine the utility of spot and cumulative urine samples for classifying the metabolic profiles of people according to dietary intake when compared with 24-h urine collections in a controlled dietary intervention study. Methods Nineteen healthy individuals (10 male, 9 female, aged 21-65 y, BMI 20-35 kg/m2) each consumed 4 distinctly different diets, each for 1 wk. Spot urine samples were collected ∼2 h post meals on 3 intervention days/wk. Cumulative urine samples were collected daily over 3 separate temporal periods. A 24-h urine collection was created by combining the 3 cumulative urine samples. Urine samples were analyzed with metabolite fingerprinting by both high-resolution flow infusion electrospray mass spectrometry (FIE-HRMS) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-NMR). Concentrations of dietary intake biomarkers were measured with liquid chromatography triple quadrupole mass spectrometry and by integration of 1H-NMR data. Results Cross-validation modeling with 1H-NMR and FIE-HRMS data demonstrated the power of spot and cumulative urine samples in predicting dietary patterns in 24-h urine collections. Particularly, there was no significant loss of information when post-dinner (PD) spot or overnight cumulative samples were substituted for 24-h urine collections (classification accuracies of 0.891 and 0.938, respectively). Quantitative analysis of urine samples also demonstrated the relation between PD spot samples and 24-h urines for dietary exposure biomarkers. Conclusions We conclude that PD spot urine samples are suitable replacements for 24-h urine collections. Alternatively, cumulative samples collected overnight predict similarly to 24-h urine samples and have a lower collection burden for participants.

Background Longitudinal epidemiological studies require both the periodic update of intake information via repeated dietary survey and the minimization of subject burden in responding to questionnaires. We developed a 66-item Food Frequency Questionnaire (short-FFQ) for the Japan Public Health Center-based prospective Study for the Next Generation (JPHC-NEXT) follow-up survey using major foods from the FFQ developed for the original JPHC Study. For the JPHC-NEXT baseline survey, we used a larger 172-item FFQ (long-FFQ), which was also derived from the JPHC-FFQ. We compared the validity of ranking individuals by levels of dietary consumption by these FFQs among residents of selected JPHC-NEXT study areas. Methods From 2012 to 2013, 240 men and women aged 40-74 years from five areas in the JPHC-NEXT protocol were asked to respond to the long-FFQ and provide 12-day weighed food records (WFR) as reference; 228 also completed the short-FFQ. Spearman's correlation coefficients (CCs) between estimates from the FFQs and WFR were calculated and corrected for intra-individual variation of the WFR. Results Median CC values for energy and 53 nutrients for the short-FFQ for men and women were 0.46 and 0.44, respectively. Respective values for the long-FFQ were 0.50 and 0.43. Compared with the long-FFQ, cross-classification into exact plus adjacent quintiles with the short-FFQ ranged from 68% to 91% in men and 58% to 85% in women. Conclusions Similar to the long-FFQ, the short-FFQ provided reasonably valid measures for ranking middle-aged and elderly Japanese for many nutrients and food groups. The short-FFQ can be used in follow-up surveys in prospective cohort studies aimed at updating diet rank information.

Objective: To assess the feasibility of using electronic visual recording in combination with food records to evaluate dietary intake in Aboriginal infants and children. Methods: All foods and drinks consumed by the child over four consecutive days were recorded in daily food records and pictures or videos. Feasibility was assessed by determining i) proportion of meals reported to be consumed; ii) cost of data collection; iii) day-to-day variation in energy intake and; iv) acceptability of the method. Results: Dietary intake data was collected from three girls and five boys aged 11 months to eight years, five over four days and three during one day, at a cost of $3,300 per child. One-third of the 89 meals reported to be consumed through the food records were electronically recorded. Most photographs were taken in the first two days with the number of meals electronically recorded decreasing each day over the four-day period. There was a large day-to-day variation in energy intake. Conclusions: Use of electronic recording to aid individual usual dietary intake data collection was feasible. Collection periods spread over 1–2 weeks may be more appropriate due to the large variance in day-to-day dietary intake.

Patients with cirrhosis waiting for liver transplantation (LT) frequently present a nutritional disorder, which represents an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality before and after transplantation. Thus, a proper assessment of the food intake by using different methods, such as food records, food frequency questionnaires, and 24 h recall, should be deemed an important step of the nutritional management of these patients. The available published studies indicate that the daily food intake is inadequate in the majority of waitlisted patients. These findings were confirmed by our experience, showing that the daily intake of total calories, proteins and carbohydrates was inadequate in approximately 85–95% of patients, while that of lipids and simple carbohydrates was inadequate in almost 50% of them. These data highlight the need to implement an effective educational program provided by certified nutritionists or dieticians, who should work in close collaboration with the hepatologist to provide a nutritional intervention tailored to the individual patient requirements.

Two web-based dietary assessment tools have been developed for use in large-scale studies: the Riksmaten method (4-d food record) and MiniMeal-Q (food-frequency method). The aim of the present study was to examine the ability of these methods to capture energy intake against objectively measured total energy expenditure (TEE) with the doubly labelled water technique (TEEDLW), and to compare reported energy and macronutrient intake. This study was conducted within the pilot study of the Swedish CArdioPulmonary bioImage Study (SCAPIS), which included 1111 randomly selected men and women aged 50–64 years from the Gothenburg general population. Of these, 200 were enrolled in the SCAPIS diet substudy. TEEDLW was measured in a subsample (n 40). Compared with TEEDLW, both methods underestimated energy intake: −2·5 (sd 2·9) MJ with the Riksmaten method; −2·3 (sd 3·6) MJ with MiniMeal-Q. Mean reporting accuracy was 80 and 82 %, respectively. The correlation between reported energy intake and TEEDLW was r 0·4 for the Riksmaten method (P r 0·28 (non-significant) for MiniMeal-Q. Women reported similar average intake of energy and macronutrients in both methods whereas men reported higher intakes with the Riksmaten method. Energy-adjusted correlations ranged from 0·14 (polyunsaturated fat) to 0·77 (alcohol). Bland–Altman plots showed acceptable agreement for energy and energy-adjusted protein and carbohydrate intake, whereas the agreement for fat intake was poorer. According to energy intake data, both methods displayed similar precision on energy intake reporting. However, MiniMeal-Q was less successful in ranking individuals than the Riksmaten method. The development of methods to achieve limited under-reporting is a major challenge for future research.

BACKGROUND: Dietary assessment during adolescence is crucial in determining how adolescents’ consumption habits potentially affect current and long-term health. However, assessment methods for adolescents need to be relevant to their emerging technological culture. We developed a web-based food frequency questionnaire (webFFQ) to assess the habitual soy isoflavones and nutrient intake of adolescents. Our purpose was to validate this webFFQ against multiple 1-day photograph-assisted food records (FR). METHODS: Adolescents aged 12–18 years (n = 70) attending middle and high schools completed the webFFQ and provided six 1-day FR. Fifteen participants were excluded due to improbable energy intake. Statistical agreements were determined using Wilcoxon signed-ranks test, Pearson’s bivariate correlations of normalized values with energy-adjustment and correction for attenuation, cross-classification, and Bland-Altman plots. RESULTS: Based on n = 55, the webFFQ had higher intake estimates for all isoflavones and most nutrients compared to the FR. Energy-adjusted and deattenuated correlations were moderately strong for total isoflavones (r = 0.67), daidzein (r = 0.63), genistein (r = 0.64), and glycitein (r = 0.54). They ranged from a high of 0.82 (animal proteins) to a low of 0.11 (vitamin B12) for nutrients. Cross-classification agreement up to within 1 quartile ranged from 99.0 % (vegetable protein) to 61.8 % (vitamin B12) with low gross misclassifications (0.0–12.7 %). Bland-Altman plots for the isoflavones showed consistent overestimation and wide variation but nevertheless good agreement between the two methods. CONCLUSIONS: The webFFQ is relatively valid in ranking adolescents according to their isoflavones and nutrient intake. However, while it significantly overestimates the absolute intake of most nutrients, results are comparable to other food frequency questionnaires developed for adolescents.

Accurate estimation of food portion size is critical in dietary studies. Hands are potentially useful as portion size estimation aids; however, their accuracy has not been tested. The aim of the present study was to test the accuracy of a novel portion size estimation method using the width of the fingers as a ‘ruler’ to measure the dimensions of foods (‘finger width method’), as well as fists and thumb or finger tips. These hand measures were also compared with household measures (cups and spoons). A total of sixty-seven participants (70 % female; age 32·7 (sd13·7) years; BMI 23·2 (sd 3·5) kg/m2) attended a 1·5 h session in which they estimated the portion sizes of forty-two pre-weighed foods and liquids. Hand measurements were used in conjunction with geometric formulas to convert estimations to volumes. Volumes determined with hand and household methods were converted to estimated weights using density factors. Estimated weights were compared with true weights, and the percentage difference from the true weight was used to compare accuracy between the hand and household methods. Of geometrically shaped foods and liquids estimated with the finger width method, 80 % were within ±25 % of the true weight of the food, and 13 % were within ±10 %, in contrast to 29 % of those estimated with the household method being within ±25 % of the true weight of the food, and 8 % being within ±10 %. For foods that closely resemble a geometric shape, the finger width method provides a novel and acceptably accurate method of estimating portion size.

Objective: To investigate if the addition of an in-depth interview focused on cultural dietary practices could improve the quality of dietary data from food records among South Asian women in New Zealand. Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 134 South Asian women (≥20 years), living in Auckland. Dietary data were collected using four-day food records. Nutritional analysis revealed 33.6% under-reporting of energy intakes. All women were recalled for an in-depth probing interview focused on culture-specific foods and dietary practices. Results: The interview revealed extensive use of dairy products and plant oils. The nutrient content of the food record alone and the food record plus interview were compared; median energy intakes were 6,852 kJ vs 7,246 kJ (p

Background: The stage of youth is critical for human development in several ways. On the one hand, it can lead people towards the adoption of a healthy lifestyle during adulthood based on these earlier practices. On the other hand, it can comprise the development of healthy living practices later on in live, an outcome which is often caused by the youth adopting a risky lifestyle early on. Objectives: The primary objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of implementing an educational intervention program based on the BASNEF Model (a simplified approach to understanding behavior), designed to cultivate self-administered lifestyle control skills in youths. Materials and Methods: This was a quasi-experimental intervention study, implemented during 2010 - 2011. A total of 288 randomly selected high-school students between the ages of 15 and 17 participated in this study. These students were later divided into experimental and control groups. Subjects completed a BASNEF questionnaire at the baseline (pre-test), one month later (post-test) and three months after the educational intervention (follow-up). Four educational sessions were held, each of a 120 - 150 minute duration. After the data had been collected, the ANOVA test was used to compare trends in changes. The Pearson correlation coefficient was then used to analyze the correlation between components of the BASNEF model. Finally, regression analysis was used to determine the predictive power of the study. Results: Results from the intervention study reveal that the beliefs and attitudes about nutrition of the intervention group, calculated in terms of scores, improved significantly for both male and female subjects (P < 0.001) as compared to the control group. The mean BASNEF scores for improvements in beliefs among girls and boys were 79.2% and 70.1%, respectively and for attitudes, 61.2% and 59.4%. The increase was significantly higher in the intervention group (P < 0.001). Furthermore, participation in physical activity was more frequent among members of the intervention group than among those in the control group (P < 0.001). Conclusions: The BASNEF model could be effective in encouraging the adoption of nutritious eating habits and more active lifestyles at an early age in order to foster long-term health and well-being.

The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) has been used as an important dietary assessment tool in epidemiologic studies, but the usefulness of the FFQ has been debated in recent years. This study was performed to evaluate the relative validities of 3-day food records and the semi-quantitative FFQ. A total of 124 subjects finished 3-day food records (FRs) during each of the four seasons, as well as the FFQ from December 2002 to May 2004. The FFQ was a food based semi-quantitative FFQ including 103 items. Three-day FRs from each season and a randomly selected season were compared with the remaining 9-day FRs. The remaining 9-day FRs, as a reference measurement, were also compared with the FFQ. Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the 3-day FRs and the 9-day FRs were between 0.14 and 0.56. Pearson’s correlation coefficients between the FFQ and the 9-day FRs ranged between 0.07 and 0.41. Average proportions of classification into the same quartiles, adjacent quartiles, and distant quartiles between the 3-day FRs and the 9-day FRs were 35.8%, 40.5%, and 5.2%, respectively. On average, the proportions of classification into the same quartiles, adjacent quartiles, and distant quartiles between the FFQ and the 9-day FRs were 31.1%, 39.4%, and 6.9%, respectively. Three-day FRs showed higher correlations and higher agreement proportions of quartile classification with the 9-day FRs than did the FFQ, but both relative validities of 3-day FRs and the FFQ appear to be acceptable as dietary assessment tools. Further studies for validating food intake by reliable biomarkers are necessary.

OBJECTIVE: The objective was to assess the quantitative agreement between a 4-day food record and a 24-hour dietary recall in young men. METHODS: Thirty-four healthy men aged 18-25 years had their food intake estimated by 4-day food record within one week following 24-hour dietary recall in a cross-sectional study. Resting metabolic rate was assessed by indirect calorimetry and Energy Expenditure was estimated by physical activity records completed simultaneously with food intake records. The validity of food records was determined by direct comparison of Energy Intake and Energy Expenditure (95% confidence interval for Energy Intake/Energy Expenditure). RESULTS: There were good agreements between the measurements of energy and macronutrient intakes by 24-hour dietary recall and 4-day food record at the group level, but not at the individual level. Compared to energy expenditure, about 20% and 9% of participants underreported their Energy Intake by 4-day food record and 24-hour dietary recall, respectively. Over 30% of underreporters of Energy Intake estimated by 24-hour dietary recall underreported Energy Intake estimated by 4-day food record. CONCLUSION: Both diet methods, 24-hour dietary recall and 4-day food record, may be used to collect data at the group level, but not at the individual level. Both methods, however, appear to underestimate Energy Intake. Underreporting may be subject-specific and appears that is more difficult to retrieve valid dietary data from some people than others. OBJETIVO: Medir a concordância qualitativa entre registros alimentares, obtidos durante 4 dias, e recordatório alimentar de 24 horas em homens jovens. MÉTODOS: Em um estudo com delineamento transversal, o consumo alimentar de 34 homens saudáveis com idades entre 18 e 25 anos foi medido por meio do recordatório alimentar de 24 horas e uma semana depois, por meio de 4 dias de registros alimentares. O gasto energético em repouso foi medido por calorimetria indireta e o gasto energético total foi medido por meio de registros de atividade física. A validade dos registros alimentares foi determinada por comparação direta do consumo energético com o gasto energético total (intervalo de confiança de 95% para consumo energético/gasto energético total). RESULTADOS: A concordância entre medidas de consumo energético e de consumo de macronutrientes, obtida por meio de registros alimentares de 4 dias e por recordatório de 24 horas, foi boa para grupos, mas não para indivíduos. Comparado com o gasto energético total, um baixo consumo energético foi observado em 20% e em 9% dos participantes, quando o consumo alimentar foi obtido por meio de registros alimentares de 4 dias e por recordatório de 24 horas, respectivamente. Mais de 30% dos participantes que tiveram baixo consumo energético, obtido com a utilização de recordatório de 24 horas, também tiveram baixo consumo energético a partir do exame dos registros alimentares de 4 dias. CONCLUSÃO: O recordatório de 24 horas é uma opção para registros alimentares de 4 dias na coleta de dados para grupos, mas não para indivíduos. Entretanto, baixo consumo alimentar, em alguns participantes, foi observado quando ambos os métodos foram utilizados na coleta de dados de consumo alimentar. É possível que a determinação de baixo consumo alimentar em alguns participantes seja específica do participante, sugerindo que pode ser mais difícil obter dados precisos de umas pessoas do que de outras.

Objective: The study was conducted to assess the relative validity of a 170-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire (SFFQ) adapted for use in the elderly. Design and subjects: The study was carried out in a sample of 80 men and women aged 55-75 y participating in a community based prospective cohort study in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. The two-step dietary assessment comprised a simple self-administered questionnaire (20 min) followed by a structured interview with trained dietitians (20 min) based on the completed questionnaire. Multiple food records (FR) collected over a one year period served as reference method. 24 h urine urea was used as indirect marker for protein intake. Results: Compared with FR, the SFFQ generally overestimated nutrient intake as reflected by difference in means and the ratio of SFFQ to FR. Energy adjustment reduced the observed overestimation. Pearson's correlation coefficients varied from close to 0.5 to about 0.9 for crude data, and after adjustment for age, sex, total energy intake, and for within-person variability in daily intake for 0.4-0.8. Cross-classification into quintiles resulted in correct classification into the same or adjacent quintile of 75.8% for crude and 76.8% for energy adjusted data. Validation of protein intake estimated by SFFQ with protein excretion from 24 h urine urea indicated overestimation of protein intake by SFFQ. Spearman correlation coefficient between protein intake estimated from urea excretion and SFFQ was 0.67. Conclusions: Adaptation of a SEFQ for use in the elderly resulted in a valid and time-efficient dietary assessment instrument. Its ability to adequately rank study subjects according to their dietary intake support its application in epidemiological studies in the elderly.