Characterization of adults food intake based on simplified questionnaire: contribution to food and nutrition surveillance studies

Abstract Objective To evaluate whether marked eating habits factors may satisfactorily characterize the usual intake. Methods We obtained food intake information using two methods: three nonconsecutive days of 24-hour recall (24HR) and a eating habits questionnaire (EHQ). The eating habits categorical data agreement was tested by the comparison of independent information sources – mentioned in the EHQ and categorized 24HR; being measured by the single kappa statistic and the prevalence adjusted kappa, with 5% significance level. Results This study investigated 288 adults, of which 54.5% were female, aged between 20 and 60 years old. It was observed that the agreement of the EHQ with the 24HR for the variables “butter and margarine consumption (both)”, “light margarine consumption”, “skimmed milk consumption”, “semi-skimmed milk consumption”, “light or diet cheese, cottage cheese or yogurt consumption”, “diet or light soft drink consumption” “light or diet and traditional soft drink consumption (both)” were almost perfect, showing that the methods of assessment of dietary intake were highly concordant. The EHQ satisfactorily characterized the consumption of most tested foods.