A Simple Tool for Diet Evaluation in Primary Health Care: Validation of a 16-Item Food Intake Questionnaire

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Katri Hemiö²  Auli Pölönen³  Kirsti Ahonen⁴  Mikko Kosola²  Katriina Viitasalo¹ 

[1] Finnair Health Services, IF/67, 01053 Finnair, Finland; E-Mail:;Department of Chronic Disease Prevention, National Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 30, FI-00271 Helsinki, Finland, E-Mails:;The Prevention Project of Diabetes and Cardiovascular Diseases, Pirkanmaa Hospital District, P.O. Box 2000, FI-33521 Tampere, Finland; E-Mail:;Tampere University Hospital, P.O. Box 2000, FI-33521 Tampere, Finland; E-Mail:

关键词: food intake questionnaire;    nutrition assessment;    primary health care;    validation studies;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph110302683

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Our aim was to validate a 16-item food intake questionnaire (16-FIQ) and create an easy to use method to estimate patients’ nutrient intake in primary health care. Participants (52 men, 25 women) completed a 7-day food record and a 16-FIQ. Food and nutrient intakes were calculated and compared using Spearman correlation. Further, nutrient intakes were compared using kappa-statistics and exact and opposite agreement of intake tertiles. The results indicated that the 16-FIQ reliably categorized individuals according to their nutrient intakes. Methods to estimate nutrient intake based on the answers given in 16-FIQ were created. In linear regression models nutrient intake estimates from the food records were used as the dependent variables and sum variables derived from the 16-FIQ were used as the independent variables. Valid regression models were created for the energy proportion of fat, saturated fat, and sucrose and the amount of fibre (g), vitamin C (mg), iron (mg), and vitamin D (μg) intake. The 16-FIQ is a valid method for estimating nutrient intakes in group level. In addition, the 16-FIQ could be a useful tool to facilitate identification of people in need of dietary counselling and to monitor the effect of counselling in primary health care.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2014 by the authors; licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.