Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for assessing dietary nutrients in Brazilian children 5 to 10 years of age.
OBJECTIVE
This study aimed to assess the relative validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), previously validated to measure usual intakes in adults, for measuring dietary intakes in children 5 to 10 y of age.


METHODS
Dietary intakes were measured using an FFQ and a 3-d dietary record. Healthy children, 5 to 10 y old (n = 151), were recruited from public schools and asked to answer the questions in the FFQ and to provide non-consecutive 3-d dietary records based on reported estimated portion sizes. Paired sample t tests and Pearson's correlation coefficients were conducted to determine whether the two instruments reported similar values for energy and nutrients. The agreement of quartile categorization between the two instruments was also examined.


RESULTS
Estimated energy and nutrient intakes derived from the FFQ were significantly higher than those derived from 3-d dietary records. As expected, Pearson's correlations increased after adjusting for residual measurement error, presumably due to exclusion of the high within-person variability in intake of these nutrients. Moderate to high (r > 0.50) correlation coefficients were verified for some nutrients such as calcium, folate, vitamin B2, vitamin A, and vitamin C.


CONCLUSIONS
This FFQ, originally developed for use in adults, appears to overestimate usual energy and nutrient intakes in children 5 to 10 y of age. Further work is necessary to conduct a calibration study to establish adequate portion sizes before instrument adoption in this population.
Fumagalli
Fernanda
F
Faculty of Pharmaceutics Sciences-Ribeirão Preto, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil.
Pontes Monteiro
Jacqueline
J
Sartorelli
Daniela Saes
DS
Vieira
Marta Neves Campanelli Marçal
MN
de Lourdes Pires Bianchi
Maria
M
D001938:Brazil; D002138:Calibration; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004041:Dietary Fats / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008903:Minerals / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000592:standards*; D014815:Vitamins / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D004040:Dietary Carbohydrates; D004041:Dietary Fats; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D008903:Minerals; D014815:Vitamins