title: Development and validation of a food frequency questionnaire to assess omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intake in Australian children aged 9-13 years.
abstract: The present study aimed to develop a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) assessing dietary omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid (n-3 LCPUFA) intake in Australian children and to validate the FFQ against a 7-day food diary.
  
  
  
  The investigation comprised a cross-sectional and validation study. The study setting was two private primary schools in the in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Twenty-two Australian children, aged 9-13 years, who were not on a special diet or receiving medical care that limited their food choice in the 3 months prior to recruitment, were recruited into the study.
  
  
  
  A total of 131 items, classified according to seven food group categories, was included in the n-3 LCPUFA FFQ, as identified from published dietary surveys and a supermarket survey. Good correlations between the FFQ and the 7-day food diary were observed for eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) [r = 0.691, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.51-0.83, P < 0.001], docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) (r = 0.684, 95% CI = 0.45-0.84, P < 0.001) and total n-3 LCPUFA (r = 0.687, 95% CI = 0.48-0.85, P < 0.001). Bland-Altman plots showed an acceptable limit of agreement between the FFQ and the average 7-day food diary. However, the mean EPA, DHA and total n-3 LCPUFA intakes estimated from the FFQ were significantly higher than those from the average 7-day food diary estimates (P < 0.001).
  
  
  
  A novel n-3 LCPUFA FFQ that has been developed to estimate dietary n-3 LCPUFA intakes in Australian children has been shown to have relative validity. The FFQ provides a useful contribution to dietary assessment methodology in this age group; however, reproducibility remains to be demonstrated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition Science, Faculty of Health Science, Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta, Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rahmawaty
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Charlton
authors.affiliation: School of Exercise and Health Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA, USA.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lyons-Wall
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine Health Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.|Metabolic Research Centre, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia.
authors.forename: B J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Meyer
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001315:Australia; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D015930:Diet Records; D004034:Diet Surveys; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015596:Nutrition Assessment; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015203:Reproducibility of Results
chemical_list: D005231:Fatty Acids, Unsaturated; D004281:Docosahexaenoic Acids; D015118:Eicosapentaenoic Acid; C026219:docosapentaenoic acid
keywords: Australia; children; dietary assessment; food frequency questionnaire; omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acid intake