Development and Reliability of the Oxford Meat Frequency Questionnaire

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Dietary Assessment
• Public Health

Background:

• Accurate measurement of meat consumption is crucial for understanding its health impacts.
• Existing methods for assessing meat intake may lack reliability and validity.
• There is a need for efficient tools to evaluate dietary interventions aimed at reducing meat consumption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and assess the reliability of the Oxford Meat Frequency Questionnaire (MFQ).
• To provide a quick and acceptable method for measuring changes in meat intake within the UK population.

Main Methods:

• The Oxford Meat Frequency Questionnaire (MFQ) was developed using UK food data.
• A 3-week web-based reliability study was conducted with 129 meat-eating adults.
• Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to evaluate test-retest reliability.

Main Results:

• The MFQ demonstrated moderate to good reliability for total meat intake (ICC = 0.716).
• Reliability for individual meat components ranged from 0.531 to 0.680.
• Fish and seafood intake showed lower reliability (ICC = 0.257).
• Participants found the MFQ easy to use, completing it in under 2 minutes.

Conclusions:

• The Oxford Meat Frequency Questionnaire (MFQ) is a reliable and acceptable tool for assessing meat intake in the UK.
• The MFQ can be utilized for monitoring dietary changes and evaluating interventions.
• Further refinement may be needed for accurate assessment of fish and seafood consumption.