Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 13, 2026
'Boden Food Plate': Novel Interactive Web-based Method for the Assessment of Dietary Intake
Published on: September 18, 2018
Measurement characteristics of 2 different self-monitoring tools used in a dietary intervention study
L F Tinker1, R E Patterson, A R Kristal
1Cancer Prevention Program at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Wash. 98109, USA.
Objective:
To examine the measurement characteristics of 2 self-monitoring tools, a food diary and fat scan, used in the dietary intervention of the Women's Health Trial: Feasibility in Minority Populations study.
Design:
Comparison of fat intake reported on the self-monitoring tools to a criterion measure of fat intake, specifically the mean of a food frequency questionnaire and a 4-day food record. The main outcome measures were differences in fat grams and correlations between each of the self-monitoring tools and the criterion measure.
Subjects/Setting:
Six-month postrandomization data from 313 women aged 50 to 79 years who participated in the intervention group of the Women's Health Trial: Feasibility in Minority Populations study.
Results:
Both self-monitoring tools underestimated fat intake compared to the criterion measure, the food diary by 9 g and the fat scan by 6 g. The self-monitoring instruments were better than chance at detecting a low-fat dietary pattern, however, and did not differ from each other in their ability to do so.
Applications/Conclusions:
The self-monitoring tools were modestly precise as measures of fat intake, but neither was sufficiently accurate to be reliable as a sole assessment of dietary adherence. Dietetics professionals are encouraged to assess the measurement properties of self-monitoring tools to use them appropriately in supporting dietary changes.
