A questionnaire for screening the micronutrient intake of economically active South African adults

The aim of the present study was to develop (phase 1) and validate (phase 2) a screening questionnaire to assess the adequacy of micronutrient intake of economically active South African adults.

For identification of indicator foods to be included in the screening questionnaire (phase 1), a comprehensive, eighty-six-item, quantified FFQ that reflected the food sources of thirteen selected micronutrients associated with the nutrition-related health status of South Africans was developed and completed by 554 adults of all four major ethnic groups. Resulting dietary data were subjected to stepwise regression analyses to identify indicator foods to be included in the final screening questionnaire. For validation of frequency of intake reporting of specific food items included in the screening questionnaire (phase 2), a sample of sixty-six African and eighty-four white adult volunteers of both genders completed a 7 d record as well as the screening questionnaire. The frequency of intake of specific food items derived from the two methods was then compared using Spearman correlation coefficients.

Phase 1 identified thirty indicator foods that formed the basis of the screening questionnaire. In phase 2, significant correlations were found for the total group for twenty-two out of the thirty items in the questionnaire, with correlations being the best for white females and the poorest for African males and females.

A screening questionnaire (thirty-item FFQ) that can be used by researchers and health professionals to assess an individual's risk of inadequate micronutrient intake was developed and validated.