title: Calibration of the food list and portion sizes of a food frequency questionnaire applied to free-living elderly people.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To calibrate the food list and relative portion sizes of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for application to a free-living, healthy, elderly population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Cross-sectional study. One hundred free-living, healthy participants, aged from 60 to 75 y, randomly selected from among individuals in the area served by the Family Health Program, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of São Paulo. A Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and a Diet History Questionnaire (DH) were applied by trained dietitians. Each food item of the FFQ had its portion size recalculated according to the percentiles referenced by the volunteers in the DH (25th = small, 50th = medium, and 75th = large). The list of foods and portion sizes of the original FFQ and those obtained by the application of the DH were compared. The percent contribution of energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, folic acid, vitamin C, calcium, and fiber of each food item mentioned in the FFQ was determined from the data obtained by the application of the DH.
  
  
  RESULTS
  FFQ, as compared with the DH, provided good estimation of the intake of protein, calcium, folic acid, and fiber (paired t test P < 0.05). Portion sizes of the FFQ differed from those obtained by the application of the DH (-23% to 300%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Adjustments to the FFQ in particular, new portion sizes and a reduction of the food list were found to be appropriate for application to healthy, urban, free-living elderly people in Ribeirao Preto, Brazil.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Internal and Geriatric Medicine, School of Medicine of Ribeirao Preto, University of São Paulo, Brazil. karinapfrimer@uol.com.br
authors.forename: Karina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Pfrimer
authors.forename: Daniela Saes
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sartorelli
authors.forename: Flavia Troncon
authors.initials: FT
authors.lastname: Rosa
authors.forename: Cristina Maria
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Mendes Resende
authors.forename: Daniela Vieira Pallos
authors.initials: DV
authors.lastname: Viera
authors.forename: Estela Iraci
authors.initials: EI
authors.lastname: Rabito
authors.forename: Fernanda Baeza
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Scagliusi
authors.forename: Eny Kiyomi Uemora
authors.initials: EK
authors.lastname: Moriguti
authors.forename: Jaqueline Pontes
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: Eduardo
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ferriolli
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D001938:Brazil; D002118:Calcium / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002138:Calibration; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys / Q000379:methods*; D004043:Dietary Fiber / Q000008:administration & dosage; D004044:Dietary Proteins / Q000008:administration & dosage; D002149:Energy Intake; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D005492:Folic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
chemical_list: D004043:Dietary Fiber; D004044:Dietary Proteins; D005492:Folic Acid; D002118:Calcium