ABSTRACT
Background A healthy diet in a college student life is critical to ensure their normal growth, study anddevelopment.Aim In order to accurately assess the dietary pattern of college students and guide it, our study aims to evaluatethe validity of instant photography as an alternative dietary assessment method in college students.Methods Nine participants were enrolled and given a presentation on dietary assessment methods, includingweighing, 24-hour recall, and instant photography. The participants took pictures of their foods from three anglesbefore and after eating for constant seven days, foods weighing was completed by others. Then, the participantsrecalled the foods’ weights after 24 hours. Two trained observers estimated food weight from the digital images(n = 285) gathered at the end of the study with the aid of Chinese food atlas reference.Results Instant photograph showed significant correlation with weighing method on food weights of grains,tubers, vegetables, fruits, meat and eggs (all P ≤ 0.01). 24-hour method had similar correlation with weighingmethod on food weights except fruits. Compared with 24-hour recall, instant photograph displayedunderestimation on weights of grains, tubers, vegetables, and meat. However, instant photograph had moreaccurate estimations on weights of fruits and egg. Furthermore, compared with nutrients data from weighingmethod, both instant photography and 24-hour recall methods showed promising estimations on the amounts ofenergy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, calcium, iron and zinc (all P < 0.001). Comparedwith 24-hour recall, instant photograph displayed underestimation on the amounts of energy, protein, fat,carbohydrate, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin E, zinc. However, instant photograph had a more accurate estimationon calcium.
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to develop a computer software program for nutritional assessment using a Semi-Quantitative Food Frequency Questionnaire (SQFFQs) and the 24-hour Recall Method. The software for the SQFFQ was divided into input, output, and database. For dietary analyses, recipe and food databases were used. The recipe database included 25 items and the food database was divided into 18 food groups. The food database was composed of 19 general nutrient items, 33 fatty acids, and 18 amino acids. The software developed in this study can be summarized as follows: 1) input items related to the individual's ages information, lifestyle, biological values, and dietary habits; 2) individualized data in percent of the Korean RDA, the energy ratios of carbohydrates, proteins and fats, the ratio of animal to plant source intakes, and the distribution of food group intakes; 3) Statistical data on the individual's information, lifestyle, biological values, and dietary intakes including the frequency of intake of cooked foods, the amounts of food, and the number of food groups, and nutrients. In the 24-hour Recall Method, the input and output consisted of the individual's information and cooked dish intakes. The individual's report included the amounts of nutrient intake according to number of meal and days, in comparison to the Korean RDA, the energy ratio for carbohydrates, proteins and fats, the ratio of animal to plant source intakes, and the distribution of food group intakes. The statistical report presented the number of food groups and foods, and the nutrient intakes. To evaluate the validity of the SQFFQ, the Spearman Rank Order Correlation and kappa values were used. As a result, correlation coefficients comparing the 24-hour Recall Method appeared to be more than 0.5, except for vitamin B1, B2, niacin, and vitamin E. The kappa values for energy and carbohydrate intakes were both 0.7, and protein, fat, vitamin C, folate, Ca, and iron intakes ranged from 0.3 to 0.7.