A Dietary Assessment Training Course Path: The Italian IV SCAI Study on Children Food Consumption

Abstract

The eating patterns in a population can be estimated through dietary surveys in which open-ended assessment methods, such as diaries and interviews, or semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaires are administered. A harmonized dietary survey methodology, together with a standardized operational procedure, in conducting the study is crucial to ensure the comparability of the results and the accuracy of information, thus reducing uncertainty and increasing the reliability of the results. Dietary patterns (i) include several target variables (foods, energy and nutrients, other food components), (ii) require several explanatory variables (age, gender, anthropometric measurements, socio-cultural and economic characteristics, lifestyle, preferences, attitudes, beliefs, organization of food-related activities, etc.), and (iii) have impacts in several domains: imbalance diets; acute and chronic exposures affect health, specifically non-communicable diseases; and then sanitary expenditure. On the other hand, food demand has impacts on the food system: production, distribution, and food services system; food wastes and other wastes generated by food-related activities of the households (e.g., packaging disposal) have consequences on the “health of the planet” which in turn can have effects on human health. Harmonization and standardization of measurement methods and procedures in such a complex context require an ad hoc structured information system made by databases (food nomenclatures, portion sizes, food atlas, recipes) and methodological tools (quantification methods, food coding systems, assessment of nutritional status, data processing to extrapolate what we consider validated dietary data). Establishing a community of professionals specialized in dietary data management could lead to build a surveillance system for monitoring eating habits in the short term, thus reducing costs, and to arrange a training re-training system. Creating and maintaining the dietary data managers community is challenging but possible. In this context, the cooperation between the CREA Research Centre for Food and Nutrition and the Italian National Health Institute (ISS) promoted and supported by the Italian Ministry of Health may represent a model of best practice that can ensure a continuous training for the professional community carrying out a nutritional study.

An Italian Case Study for Assessing Nutrient Intake through Nutrition-Related Mobile Apps

“…The limitation of this study is the low number of the 24-HRs selected for analysis, although they proved to be sufficient to highlight the main differences between Foodsoft 1.0 and the selected apps, both in results and in functionalities. Another limitation is that the data of the 24-HRs, both in Foodsoft 1.0 and in the mobile apps, were entered by professionals specialized in dietary data management well trained in entering the consumption data recorded through the 24-HRs with computer support, and performing the quality control of the data collected and entered [ 12 ], paying attention also to the energy and macronutrients values of the food items reported in the app.…”

“…The first Italian survey on food consumption dates back to 1980–1984, subsequently two other surveys were carried out respectively in 1994–1996 and 2005–2006, and the fourth national dietary data collection was the recently completed IV SCAI study [ 12 ]. All four surveys used different tools and methods depending on both the type of information that was considered important at the time of the survey, the availability of effective and adequate tools for data collection and economic feasibility.…”

Safety Evaluation and Probabilistic Health Risk Assessment of Cow Milk Produced in Northern Italy According to Dioxins and PCBs Contamination Levels

“…Consumption data of cow milk (consumers only) were retrieved from a more recent Italian survey on food consumption SCAI IV included within the EFSA Comprehensive Food Consumption Database [40][41][42]. Infants (up to 12 months old), toddlers (13-36 months old), children (37 months-9 years old), adolescents (10-17 years old), adults (18-65 years old), and the elderly (>65 years old) were the six Italian population age groups considered.…”