Associations between reported intakes of carotenoid-rich foods and concentrations of carotenoids in plasma: a validation study of a web-based food recall for children and adolescents

Abstract

Objective: To validate estimated intakes of carotenoid-rich foods from a web-based food recall (WebFR) using carotenoids in blood as an objective reference method. Design: Cross-sectional validation study using carotenoids in plasma to evaluate estimated intakes of selected carotenoid-rich foods. Participants recorded their food intake in the WebFR and plasma concentrations of β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin were measured. Setting: Schools and homes of families in a suburb of the capital of Norway. Subjects: A total of 261 participants in the age groups 8-9 and 12-14 years. Results: Spearman's rank correlation coefficients ranged from 0·30 to 0·44, and cross-classification showed that 71·6-76·6 % of the participants were correctly classified, when comparing the reported intakes of carotenoid-rich foods and concentrations of the corresponding carotenoids in plasma, not including lutein and zeaxanthin. Conclusions: Correlations were acceptable and cross-classification analyses demonstrated that the WebFR was able to rank participants according to their reported intake of foods rich in α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene. The WebFR is a promising tool for dietary assessment among children and adolescents.

Electronic 12-Hour Dietary Recall (e-12HR): Comparison of a Mobile Phone App for Dietary Intake Assessment With a Food Frequency Questionnaire and Four Dietary Records (Preprint)

“…(5) Each participant downloaded the e-12HR app for their personal Smartphone. (6) The same member of the research team personally explained to each participant how to use the app with a practical demonstration before written instructions were given to the participants [14,27] to be consulted later if necessary. (7) The same research team member personally gave each student detailed instructions on how to complete the four estimated DRs and how to estimate serving sizes consumed through the use of an explanatory pamphlet that was also given to the participants [12,13].…”

“…They also provide consumption patterns that range from almost every day for every inhabitant of the population to infrequently for the majority [4] The first time the e-12HR app was used, the participants were required to introduce their personally assigned alphanumeric code and the e-mail of the researcher who would receive the data from the app. Participants were instructed to complete the app after consuming the last food of the day [14,27]. In order to make completion of the e-12HR task easier, the app was structured by food groups.…”

“…In order to make completion of the e-12HR task easier, the app was structured by food groups. For each food group, the participant would choose the most appropriate image (or images) from a series of color photographs with 2-4 possible options, shown simultaneously [14,27], that illustrated the different serving sizes to assist with selecting the number of standard servings consumed [10,12,14,20,27]. To further assist with estimating serving sizes, each photograph was accompanied by an explanatory text and three objects of known/predictable size for the students [30,31] (fiducial markers): a commonly used pencil, pen and a marker.…”

“…Each participant, during the first interview, received an explanation of how to use the estimated DRs and how to estimate the serving size consumed [12,13], through the use of a pamphlet with a series of 2-4 color photographs [10,13,14,27] (one series for each food group). To assist with estimating serving sizes, each photograph was accompanied by an explanatory text and three reference objects of known/predictable size for the students [30,31] (fiducial markers): a commonly used pencil, pen and a marker.…”

“…The essential concept of these studies is to determine habitual consumption of specific key groups of food/drinks (hereafter referred to as 'food') [3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Classifying individuals according to categories of habitual consumption of specific food groups is sufficient for identifying potential nutritional deficiencies [10] and for evaluating the relationship between relative ranking and disease [5,[8][9][10][11][12][13][14], and effectiveness of personalized methods that are implemented to promote changes in dietary patterns with regards to the selected food groups [1,5,[8][9][10]12].…”