Young adolescents' nutrition assessment on computer (YANA-C)

To assess the relative validity and acceptability of the computerised 24-h recall 'Young Adolescent's Nutrition Assessment on Computer (YANA-C)'.

Food and nutrient intakes assessed with YANA-C were compared with food records (study 1) and 24-h dietary recall interviews (study 2).

Intakes of food groups (fruit, fruit juice, vegetables, potatoes, bread, cereals, milk, cheese, other milk products, soft drinks, diet soft drinks, sugar/sweets, pastry/cookies, savoury snacks, butter/sauces, eggs, fish, meat) and nutrients (energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, calcium, vitamin C and iron).

A total of 237 pupils (11-14 y) from two primary and four secondary schools (study 1: n = 136; study 2: n = 101) in Belgium-Flanders.

YANA-C proved to agree well with both standard methods in categorizing subjects in consumers and nonconsumers (kappa(study 1) = 0.48-0.92; kappa(study 2) = 0.38-0.90). Spearman's correlations for energy and nutrient intakes ranged between 0.44 and 0.79 for study 1 and between 0.44 and 0.86 for study 2. Nutrient and energy intakes were in general (excluding calcium) significantly higher in YANA-C in comparison with the food record, but not in comparison with the interview (only fiber). Statistics used to investigate whether YANA-C agreed with the other methods in ranking portions/amounts in consumers only were fair to moderate for most of the food groups (weighted kappa study 1 = 0.11-0.55; study 2 = 0.04-0.73); amounts in consumers only, were significantly lower in YANA-C against both standards for cereals; amounts were significantly higher in YANA-C against the food record for milk, soft drinks, sugar/sweets and savoury snacks and against the interview for potatoes. Only a few pupils evaluated the program negatively.

YANA-C is a promising method to collect detailed dietary information from young adolescents with relatively low staff resources, useful in many nutrition research applications.