Development and Validation of a Cultural-based Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) against 7-day Food Diary (7d FD) to Assess Fish Intake among Elementary School Children

Abstract

An accurate dietary fish questionnaire can be used to predict dietary intake status of omega-3 long chain polyunsaturated fatty acids (n-3 LCPUFA). The aim of this study was to design and validate a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) to predict fish consumption of primary school children against a 7-day food diary (7d FD). A cross-sectional study was performed in elementary school in Surakarta, Indonesia. A total of 164 children aged 8 to 12 yo which were recruited using multi-stage random sampling were participated in this study. The FFQ consisted of 38 species of fish including 27 species of fresh fish and 11 species of processed fish. Total median (interquartile range) fish intake determined from the FFQ vs 7d FD was similar of 60 (36-114) g/d and 59 (37-108) g/d, respectively. A very good correlation was found between the FFQ and 7d FD by Spearman’s correlation coefficient test (r=0.965, p=0.0001) with an acceptable of the two methods using non-parametric limit of agreement (95% LoA=-10.907-34.619, median difference=0.011, 95% CI for median difference=-2.408-1.193). The FFQ is acceptable a valid tool to determine fish intake in this group.