Design of a self-administered online food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to assess dietary intake among university population.

OBJECTIVE To introduce and describe a new tool called UPV-FFQ to evaluate dietary intake of the university population. The new tool consists principally in a self-administered online food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). MATERIALS AND METHODS The tool UPV-FFQ has been developed by means of web pages applying the technology ASP.NET 2.0 and using the database SQL Server 2005 as support. To develop the FFQ has been used as model the paper and pencil FFQ called "Dieta, salud y antropometría en la población universitaria". RESULTS The tool has three parts: (1) a homepage, (2) a general questionnaire and (3) a FFQ. The FFQ has a closed list of 84 food items commonly consumed in Valencia region. The respondents has to indicate the food items that they consume (2 possible options), the frequency of consumption (9 response options) and the quantity consumed (7 response options). The UPV-FFQ has approximately 250 color photographs that represents to three portion sizes. The photographs are useful to help the respondents to choose the portion sizes that more adjusts to their habitual portions. The new tool provides quantitative information of the habitual intake of 31 nutritional parameters and provides qualitative information of the general questionnaire. A pilot study was done for a total of 57 respondents. The media time spend to fill in was 15 minutes. CONCLUSIONS The pilot study concluded that the questionnaire was ease-of-use, low cost and time-effectiveness questionnaire. The format and the sequence of the questions were easily understood.

[1]  M. Inoue,et al.  Impact of the revision of a nutrient database on the validity of a self-administered food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) , 2006, Journal of epidemiology.

[2]  D. Schwappach,et al.  "Quick and dirty numbers"? The reliability of a stated-preference technique for the measurement of preferences for resource allocation. , 2006, Journal of health economics.

[3]  M. Campbell,et al.  A tailored multimedia nutrition education pilot program for low-income women receiving food assistance. , 1999, Health education research.

[4]  D. Farrell,et al.  Randomized trial of a tailored nutrition education CD-ROM program for women receiving food assistance. , 2004, Journal of nutrition education and behavior.

[5]  A F Subar,et al.  Is shorter always better? Relative importance of questionnaire length and cognitive ease on response rates and data quality for two dietary questionnaires. , 2001, American journal of epidemiology.

[6]  W. James,et al.  A life course approach to diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases , 2004, Public Health Nutrition.

[7]  B. Lohse,et al.  Internet-based interventions have potential to affect short-term mediators and indicators of dietary behavior of young adults. , 2008, Journal of nutrition education and behavior.

[8]  Paula Iragüen,et al.  Willingness-to-pay for reducing fatal accident risk in urban areas: an Internet-based Web page stated preference survey. , 2004, Accident; analysis and prevention.

[9]  Alan D. Lopez,et al.  Global mortality, disability, and the contribution of risk factors: Global Burden of Disease Study , 1997, The Lancet.

[10]  J Brug,et al.  The application and impact of computer-generated personalized nutrition education: a review of the literature. , 1999, Patient education and counseling.

[11]  J. Seidell,et al.  The public health impact of obesity. , 2001, Annual review of public health.

[12]  S. Männistö,et al.  Validity of a food frequency questionnaire varied by age and body mass index. , 2006, Journal of clinical epidemiology.

[13]  O. Vitek,et al.  Dietary patterns in six European populations: results from EURALIM, a collaborative European data harmonization and information campaign , 2000, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

[14]  J. Brug,et al.  Web-based tailored nutrition education: results of a randomized controlled trial. , 2001, Health education research.

[15]  W. Willett.  Invited commentary: a further look at dietary questionnaire validation. , 2001, American journal of epidemiology.

[16]  Fat, cholesterol, fiber and sodium intakes of US population: evaluation of diets reported in 1987-88 Nationwide Food Consumption Survey. , 1995, European journal of clinical nutrition.

[17]  Robert P. Berrens,et al.  Would developing country commitments affect US households' support for a modified Kyoto Protocol? , 2004 .

[18]  S. Bertrais,et al.  Socioeconomic differences in fruit and vegetable consumption among middle-aged French adults: adherence to the 5 A Day recommendation. , 2008, Journal of the American Dietetic Association.

[19]  A. Markandya,et al.  Valuing river characteristics using combined site choice and participation travel cost models. , 2006, Journal of environmental management.

[20]  S. De Henauw,et al.  Reproducibility and relative validity of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire designed for assessing the intake of dioxin-like contaminants. , 2008, Environmental research.

[21]  Wytse J. Wadman,et al.  Health Council of the Netherlands: No need to change from SAR to time-temperature relation in electromagnetic fields exposure limits , 2011, International journal of hyperthermia : the official journal of European Society for Hyperthermic Oncology, North American Hyperthermia Group.

[22]  J. Freeland-Graves,et al.  Development and validation of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire for young adult women in the southwestern United States , 2004 .

[23]  J. Who,et al.  Diet, nutrition and the prevention of chronic diseases : report of a Joint WHO/FAO Expert Consultation , 2003 .

[24]  P. Brandt.  Dietary reference intakes: energy, proteins, fats and digestible carbohydrates , 2001 .

[25]  Toyoaki Washida,et al.  Economic valuation of the Seto Inland Sea by using an Internet CV survey. , 2003, Marine pollution bulletin.

[26]  W. Kroeze,et al.  The efficacy of Web-based and print-delivered computer-tailored interventions to reduce fat intake: results of a randomized, controlled trial. , 2008, Journal of nutrition education and behavior.

[27]  Christopher M. Fleming,et al.  Web-based surveys as an alternative to traditional mail methods. , 2009, Journal of environmental management.

[28]  M. Kergoat,et al.  Validation of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire measuring dietary vitamin K intake in elderly people. , 2009, Journal of the American Dietetic Association.