Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2005 Dec 13:4:37.
doi: 10.1186/1475-2891-4-37.

Nutrient estimation from an FFQ developed for a Black Zimbabwean population

Anwar T Merchant  1 , Mahshid Dehghan, Jephat Chifamba, Getrude Terera, Salim Yusuf
Affiliations

Nutrient estimation from an FFQ developed for a Black Zimbabwean population

Anwar T Merchant et al. Nutr J. .

Abstract

Background: There is little information in the literature on methods of food composition database development to calculate nutrient intake from food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data. The aim of this study is to describe the development of an FFQ and a food composition table to calculate nutrient intake in a Black Zimbabwean population.

Methods: Trained interviewers collected 24-hour dietary recalls (24 hr DR) from high and low income families in urban and rural Zimbabwe. Based on these data and input from local experts we developed an FFQ, containing a list of frequently consumed foods, standard portion sizes, and categories of consumption frequency. We created a food composition table of the foods found in the FFQ so that we could compute nutrient intake. We used the USDA nutrient database as the main resource because it is relatively complete, updated, and easily accessible. To choose the food item in the USDA nutrient database that most closely matched the nutrient content of the local food we referred to a local food composition table.

Results: Almost all the participants ate sadza (maize porridge) at least 5 times a week, and about half had matemba (fish) and caterpillar more than once a month. Nutrient estimates obtained from the FFQ data by using the USDA and Zimbabwean food composition tables were similar for total energy intake intra class correlation (ICC) = 0.99, and carbohydrate (ICC = 0.99), but different for vitamin A (ICC = 0.53), and total folate (ICC = 0.68).

Conclusion: We have described a standardized process of FFQ and food composition database development for a Black Zimbabwean population.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The process of choosing Food items from USDA nutrient database. (FCT* : Food Composition Table) ESHA: Computer program to estimate nutrient content of foods
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Popkin BM. Urbanization, lifestyle changes and the nutrition transition. World Development. 1999;27:1905–1916. doi: 10.1016/S0305-750X(99)00094-7. - DOI
    1. Willett W. Food Frequency Methods. In: Willett W, editor. Nutritional epidemiology. Second. Vol. 5. New York, Oxford University Press; 1998. pp. 74–100.
    1. USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference Release 17. 2004. http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp
    1. Chitsiku IC. Nutritive Value of Foods in Zimbabwe. University of Zimbabwe; 2000.
    1. Rimm EB, Giovannucci EL, Stampfer MJ, Colditz GA, Litin LB, Willett WC. Reproducibility and validity of an expanded self-administered semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire among male health professionals. Am J Epidemiol. 1992;135:1114–1126. - PubMed

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances