The validity of a telephone-administered 24-hour dietary recall methodology

Abstract

This study assesses the operational feasibility and validity of a unique telephone-administered 24-h dietary recall methodology. Dietary interviews were conducted by telephone with 204 low-income elderly subjects. Food portion size estimation was done using a two-dimensional food portion visual aid the that was mailed to respondents' homes. The mean intakes and distributions of nine nutrients among males and females in the research sample were compared with those reported in the 1971 to 1974 Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. After correcting for time trends in nutrient intake, the mean intake values found in the survey were very similar to those reported by the Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. In testing the frequency distributions of intakes, only two nutrients for women and one for men had statistically significant differences. The telephone-administered dietary methodology thus produced acceptable estimates of the means and distributions of nutrient intakes among groups of individuals and has the potential of markedly reducing the cost, time, logistical, and personnel constraints associated with nutrition surveys.

Accuracy of Fourth-Graders' Dietary Recalls of School Breakfast and School Lunch Validated with Observations: In-Person versus Telephone Interviews

“…13 National surveys have used telephone 24-hour recalls. 12 Among adults, numerous studies have indicated that dietary recall information obtained by telephone was, in general, similar to or indicated slightly greater mean intakes than information from in-person dietary recalls in previous national surveys, 14,15 food records, 16 and in-person dietary recalls. 17-21 However, these studies lacked true validation because they compared one self-report method with another self-report method, without investigators knowing the respondents' actual consumption.…”

Dietary Intake, Behaviors and Psychosocial Factors among Women from Food-Secure and Food-Insecure Households

“…The multi-pass, 24-hour dietary recall methodology has established validity and reliability. 29,30 Participants received a 20-minute training in portion size estimation using a Food Portion Visual, 31 with the addition of food models, dishes and utensils, then completed their first 24-hour dietary recall. The remaining two recalls occurred within 15 days.…”

Comparison of telephone vs face-to-face interviews in the assessment of dietary intake by the 24 h recall EPIC SOFT program—the Norwegian calibration study

“…Traditionally, 24 h dietary recall has been recorded by a face-to-face interview, but interviews conducted by telephone have become increasingly common (Andersson & Rossner, 1996;Bogle et al, 2001;Tran et al, 2000;Fox et al, 1992;Casey et al, 1999) and are considered as a feasible alternative to expensive and time-consuming face-to-face methods (Fox et al, 1992;Posner et al, 1982).…”