Validation of a food frequency questionnaire for assessing total antioxidant status.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the validity of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) developed as a tool for assessing antioxidant intake and to investigate whether dietary total antioxidant status predicted plasma antioxidant status. MATERIAL AND METHODS: This research was conducted at Saglik Bilimleri University Faculty of Medicine Immunology. Dietary intake of total antioxidants was assessed using an FFQ (82 food items), which was adopted from Satia et al. and translated into Turkish. Total antioxidant status (TAS) in plasma was assessed using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in overnight-fasting blood. The validation of the questionnaire against plasma TAS was examined using Spearman's correlation test, Bland-Altman plots, and kappa statistics. RESULTS: The mean age of the 45 study participants (19 women and 26 men) was 45.9 ± 11.0 years. The mean plasma TAS level was 13.8 ± 6.1 mg/L, and the mean intake of total antioxidants was 114.0 ± 134.6 mg/day. There was a positive correlation between plasma TAS and the intake of total antioxidants calculated using the FFQ (r = 0.73; p < 0.001). Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the questionnaire was 0.949. CONCLUSION: The FFQ adapted to the Turkish population and tested here was a good predictor for dietary intake of total antioxidant status.

The Effect of Eating Habits' Quality on Scholastic Performance in Turkish Adolescents.

Evidence associates scholastic performance to quality of eating habits. However, there is limited information on this topic in Turkey, an emerging economy with notable disparities. Our work aimed to evaluate the effect of eating habits quality of high-school students in Turkey, on the Scholastic Aptitude Standardized Examination (TEOG) scores. The study was conducted in 29 different cities in Turkey during the academic year 2016-2017, involving students of ages 14-17 years (up to senior-high school). A dietary habits survey developed and validated for this population was distributed over the internet in February 2017. Apart from students' TEOG scores, Family Affluence Score (FAS) was used to categorize the students into low, medium, and high financial standing. Eating Habits Score (EHS) was calculated by using a validated scoring system. A working sample of 298 participants was used. Based on our results, we observed that there is a significant positive correlation between EHS, FAS and success rate of students as assessed by TEOG scores. Further research on this subject should be conducted in combination with intervention studies to reveal potential strategies and policies that would enhance positive behavior change as it relates to nutritional habits, aiming at improved scholastic performance and overall health throughout lifespan.