Comparison of Self-Administered Web-Based and Printed Food Frequency Questionnaires for Dietary Assessment in the Iranian adult population

Abstract

Abstract Background: Today, with the increasing availability and usage of the internet, dietary assessment tools including FFQ are designed and modified using web technology. The web-based Nutripors food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was developed as a dietary assessment tool for healthy adults in Iran. Objective: The present study aimed to develop a web-based FFQ for the Iranian adult population to assess dietary intakes and compare it with the validated printed FFQ. Methods: Eligible participants were randomly asked to complete both the printed FFQ and Web-Based FFQ. The type of FFQ was changed for each participant after ten days. The level of agreement between two FFQs was evaluated using the Bland and Altman method and correlations. Results: Out of 190 participants, the final analysis was performed on 141 participants. The results are from the dietary assessment of 70 females (49.6%) and 71 males (50.4%) that completed both FFQs. The level of agreement was high for all nutrient intakes (r>0.8). In food groups, “Whole grains” has the highest (0.84), and “Potato” has the lowest (0.25) correlation coefficients. Also, there were no significant differences in the time spent to complete the questionnaires. Conclusion: We concluded that Web-Based FFQ as an online FFQ has good agreement with the validated printed FFQ and properly reflects the nutrient and food group intakes.