A computerized diet questionnaire for use in diet health education

Abstract

A diet questionnaire was developed in association with a computer program to provide rapid nutritional feedback to the general public. The questionnaire was validated against 16 d of weighted diet records and biochemical variables in blood and urine. The highest Pearson correlation coefficients obtained between the questionnaire and the weighed records were for alcohol, fibre, iron, riboflavin (r 0.74, 0.67, 0.66, 0.66 respectively). Striking sex differences were shown in the results; the trend for higher correlations persisted in females. At least 65% of subjects were classified by questionnaire to within one quintile of the classification by weighed record for the majority of nutrients.