Validity and reliability of a calcium checklist in early elementary-school children.
OBJECTIVE
To create, validate and assess the reliability of a checklist to measure calcium intake in children.


METHODS
Calcium intakes from a checklist and parent-assisted 24-h dietary recall were compared. Checklist reliability was assessed separately.


METHODS
After-school programmes in the United States.


METHODS
Forty-two children (18 males, 24 females, age = 8.0 +/- 0.9 years) participated in the validation analysis and 49 children (28 males, 21 females, age = 7.5 +/- 0.9 years) in the reliability analysis.


RESULTS
No differences in mean calcium intakes were found by method or gender. The checklist correlated well with recall among girls (r = 0.65, P = 0.01) but not boys (r = -0.33, P = 0.19). Agreement over time was above 80% for most foods.


CONCLUSIONS
The calcium checklist is useful for assessing calcium intake among groups of 6-10-year-old children in settings that preclude parental assistance. More research is needed to improve accuracy among boys.
Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, John Hancock Center for Physical Activity and Nutrition, Tufts University, Boston, MA 02111, USA.
Lori
L
Marcotte
Erin
E
Hennessy
Johanna
J
Dwyer
Raymond R
RR
Hyatt
Jeanne P
JP
Goldberg
Elena N
EN
Naumova
Christina D
CD
Economos
D002136:Calcium, Dietary / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002648:Child; D003611:Dairy Products; D005260:Female; D005518:Food Preferences; D005527:Food, Fortified; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012574:Schools; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013334:Students; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014481:United States
D002136:Calcium, Dietary