Reproducibility and Validity of a Short Food Frequency Questionnaire for Dietary Assessment in Children Aged 7–9 Years in Spain

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine if the short semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) is a reliable and valid tool to assess the diet of Spanish children aged 7–9 years. We collected data from 156 children of the birth cohort INMA (Infancia y Medio Ambiente (Environment and Childhood)). Children’s parents or care-givers completed a 46-item FFQ on two occasions over a 9–12-month period about the children’s diet. To explore the reproducibility of the FFQ, the nutrient and food group intake collected from the both FFQs were compared, while validity was examined by contrasting the nutrient values from the FFQs and the average of three 24-hour dietary recalls (24hDRs) taken in this period, and also with the concentration of several vitamins in the blood (carotenoids, vitamin D and α-tocopherol). Pearson and de-attenuated correlation coefficients were calculated. The average correlation coefficients for nutrient intake’s reproducibility was 0.41, ranging from 0.25 (calcium) to 0.65 (β-carotene), and for food group intake was 0.45, ranging from 0.18 (cereals) to 0.68 (sweetened beverages). Correlation coefficients slightly improved when we compared energy-adjusted intakes. The average correlation coefficients for validity against 24hDRs was 0.34 for energy-adjusted intakes, and 0.39 when de-attenuation coefficients were used. The validity coefficients against the blood concentrations of vitamins were 0.38 for β-cryptoxanthin, 0.26 for lycopene, 0,23 for α-carotene and 0.15 for β-carotene, all of them statistically significant (p < 0.05). This study suggests that our brief FFQ is a suitable tool for the dietary assessment of a wide range of nutrients and food groups in children 7–9 years, despite the low to moderate reproducibility and validity observed for some nutrients.

Reproducibility and relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for the Chinese lactating mothers

“…Among them, the correlation coefficients of eggs and poultry were higher than those of the others. Moreover, this finding was also confirmed in FFQ studies from pregnant women and children aged 7-9 years [40,41]. A possible reason for the higher correlation coefficients of eggs and poultry could be that these special populations had special physiologic needs, resulting in an increase in the demand for high-quality protein; eggs and poultry are good sources of high-quality protein.…”

Population-Based Study of the Influence of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Hand Hygiene Behaviors—Polish Adolescents’ COVID-19 Experience (PLACE-19) Study

“…To enable easier recall, the period of the COVID-19 global pandemic was defined as a period when students are in the system of remote learning and the period before the COVID-19 issue was defined as a period when students were not in the system of remote learning, being typical for their behaviors when there was no COVID-19 issue (e.g., December 2019). Such recall period is indicated as reliable for the studies conducted for children and adolescents for various behaviors, including dietary behaviors [28], physical activity behaviors [29], sexual behaviors [30], or injuries [31], but no study was conducted for reliability of handwashing behaviors reporting. Similarly, for adults, even longer recall periods are indicated as reliable for various behaviors, such as dietary behaviors [32], physical activity behaviors [33], or breastfeeding behaviors [34].…”

Reproducibility and Validity of a Food Frequency Questionnaire for Dietary Assessment in Adolescents in a Self-Reported Way

“…Although a few FFQs have been developed for adolescents [13][14][15][16][17], we are not aware of FFQs specifically validated for adolescents in Spain. In the context of the INfancia y Medio Ambiente (Environment and Childhood) Project, a multicenter population-based birth cohort study in Spain [18], we have previously developed and validated several FFQs for dietary assessment in pregnant women and their children at the ages of 4-5 and 7-9 years [19][20][21]. In accordance with the needs of the follow-up phases of the INMA study, the aim of this study was to evaluate the reproducibility and validity of a semiquantitative FFQ designed to assess diet in a self-administered way in male adolescents aged 15-17 years in the INMA Project, using two 24-Hour Dietary Recalls (24hDR) as the validation method.…”