Collecting Dietary Intake Data - Week 2

Diet History

Structured clinical interview used to identify an individual's usual food intake and variation over time.

Diet History Strengths

Better capacity to capture usual individual intake.

Diet History Weaknesses

Time-consuming, requires a skilled interviewer, and susceptible to memory errors or concealment.

24-Hour Recall

Asking subjects to recall all foods, beverages, and supplements consumed from midnight to midnight.

24-Hour Recall Strengths

Easy to collect, reasonably accurate, and suitable for group/population mean intakes.

24-Hour Recall Weaknesses

Single recall misses usual intake; difficult portion estimation and potential misreporting.

AMPM (Automated Multiple-Pass Method) Steps

1. Quick List, 2. Forgotten Foods, 3. Time & Occasion, 4. Detail Cycle, 5. Final Probe.

Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)

Questionnaire asking how frequently listed foods are eaten over a defined time period.

FFQ Use Case

Mainly used in research to capture the usual intake of populations.

FFQ Weaknesses

Requires understanding of serves, potential missing key foods, and memory/reporting errors.

Food Record / Diary

Method where subjects write down or photograph foods as they are consumed.

Food Record Strengths

Less reliance on memory and potentially more accurate quantification.

Food Record Weaknesses

Low compliance, high burden, and potential artificial changes to eating habits.

Days Needed for Food Records

Energy and macronutrients take 3-7 days; micronutrients require many more days.

Direct Observation

Observing subjects eating in controlled or natural settings like dining halls and labs.

Direct Observation Strengths

Can capture food intake very accurately.

Direct Observation Weaknesses

Highly labour-intensive and limited to specific or artificial situations.