Evaluation of Three Short Dietary Instruments to Assess Fruit and Vegetable Intake: The National Cancer Institute's Food Attitudes and Behaviors Survey

• Published in: Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 2012-10, Vol.112 (10), p.1570-1577
• Main Authors: Yaroch, Amy L., PhD, Tooze, Janet, PhD, Thompson, Frances E., PhD, MPH, Blanck, Heidi M., PhD, Thompson, Olivia M., PhD, MPH, Colón-Ramos, Uriyoan, PhD, MPA, Shaikh, Abdul R., PhD, MHS, McNutt, Susanne, MS, RD, Nebeling, Linda C., PhD, MPH, RD, FADA
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; adults; Attitudes; attitudes and opinions; Behavior; Biological and medical sciences; Cancer; correlation; cost effectiveness; Diet - statistics & numerical data; diet recall; Diet Surveys - instrumentation; Diet Surveys - standards; Diets; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Female; Fruit; Fruits; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Gastroenterology and Hepatology; Health Behavior; Humans; Internal Medicine; Male; men; Mental Recall; National Cancer Institute (U.S.); Nutrition; Nutrition Assessment; Public health; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Statistics, Nonparametric; surveys; Surveys and Questionnaires - standards; United States; vegetable consumption; Vegetables; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; women
• ISSN: 2212-2672; 2212-2680
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2012.06.002

Abstract Background Fruit and vegetable (F/V) intake assessment tools that are valid, reliable, brief, and easy to administer and code are vital to the field of public health nutrition. Objective To evaluate three short F/V intake screeners (ie, a 2-item serving tool, a 2-item cup tool, and a 16-item F/V intake screener) among adults using multiple 24-hour dietary recalls (24-hour recalls) as the reference instrument and evaluate test–retest reliability of the screeners across a 2- to 3-week time period. Design Validity and reliability study. Participants/setting Two hundred forty-four adults for the validity study and 335 adults for test–retest reliability. Statistical analyses performed Median values for F/V intakes were calculated for the screeners and 24-hour recalls. The Wilcoxon signed rank test was used to compare screeners with the 24-hour recalls. Deattenuated Pearson correlations were reported for validity and intraclass correlation coefficient used for reliability. Results The estimated median daily servings/cups of F/V for the 2-item serving screener was lower, for the 2-item cup screener was equivalent for men but higher for women, and for the 16-item F/V intake screener were about the same when compared with 24-hour recall values. The deattenuated correlations comparing the 24-hour recalls with the screeners were positive but weak for the 2-item serving screener, and were positive and moderate in strength for the 2-item cup and 16-item F/V intake screeners. The test–retest intraclass correlation coefficients were all positive and fairly strong for all of the screeners. Conclusions Although dietary screeners offer a more cost-effective, less burdensome way to obtain gross estimates to rank individuals with regard to F/V intake, these methods are not recommended for assessing precise intake levels.