Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6(1), 121-150; doi:10.3390/ijerph6010121
Article

Validity and Reproducibility of a Self-Administered Semi-Quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Usual Daily Fat, Fibre, Alcohol, Caffeine and Theobromine Intakes among Belgian Post-Menopausal Women

Selin Bolca 1 email, Inge Huybrechts 2 email, Mia Verschraegen 3 email, Stefaan De Henauw 2,3 email and Tom Van de Wiele 1,* email
1 Laboratory of Microbial Ecology and Technology (LabMET), Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Coupure Links 653, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium 2 Department of Public Health, Ghent University, University Hospital 2BlokA, De Pintelaan 185, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium 3 Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Health Care Vesalius, University College Ghent, Keramiekstraat 80, B-9000 Ghent, Belgium
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 11 December 2008 / Accepted: 31 December 2008 / Published: 6 January 2009
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Public Health: Feature Papers)
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Abstract: A novel food-frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed and validated to assess the usual daily fat, saturated, mono-unsaturated and poly-unsaturated fatty acid, fibre, alcohol, caffeine, and theobromine intakes among Belgian post-menopausal women participating in dietary intervention trials with phyto-oestrogens. The relative validity of the FFQ was estimated by comparison with 7 day (d) estimated diet records (EDR, n 64) and its reproducibility was evaluated by repeated administrations 6 weeks apart (n 79). Although the questionnaire underestimated significantly all intakes compared to the 7 d EDR, it had a good ranking ability (r 0.47-0.94; weighted κ 0.25-0.66) and it could reliably distinguish extreme intakes for all the estimated nutrients, except for saturated fatty acids. Furthermore, the correlation between repeated administrations was high (r 0.71-0.87) with a maximal misclassification of 7% (weighted κ 0.33-0.80). In conclusion, these results compare favourably with those reported by others and indicate that the FFQ is a satisfactorily reliable and valid instrument for ranking individuals within this study population.
Keywords: Food-frequency questionnaire; estimated diet record; validity; reproducibility; fat; fibre

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MDPI and ACS Style

Bolca, S.; Huybrechts, I.; Verschraegen, M.; De Henauw, S.; Van de Wiele, T. Validity and Reproducibility of a Self-Administered Semi-Quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Usual Daily Fat, Fibre, Alcohol, Caffeine and Theobromine Intakes among Belgian Post-Menopausal Women. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 121-150.

AMA Style

Bolca S., Huybrechts I., Verschraegen M., De Henauw S., Van de Wiele T. Validity and Reproducibility of a Self-Administered Semi-Quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Usual Daily Fat, Fibre, Alcohol, Caffeine and Theobromine Intakes among Belgian Post-Menopausal Women. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2009; 6(1):121-150.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Bolca, Selin; Huybrechts, Inge; Verschraegen, Mia; De Henauw, Stefaan; Van de Wiele, Tom. 2009. "Validity and Reproducibility of a Self-Administered Semi-Quantitative Food-Frequency Questionnaire for Estimating Usual Daily Fat, Fibre, Alcohol, Caffeine and Theobromine Intakes among Belgian Post-Menopausal Women." Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 6, no. 1: 121-150.

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