Surveillance of a community's fat consumption using a food frequency questionnaire

The objective of this study was to initiate a community surveillance of fat consumption, using a food frequency questionnaire. We surveyed 584 French speaking adults, using a telephone-administered questionnaire. A response rate of 84% was obtained, and the sample was representative of Lanaudière's population in terms of age and sex. The index was computed by determining the daily consumption of fat in grams from 13 food items. The index's median value was 39.5 grams (g) of fat per day, the upper quartile 58.5% g/day the lower quartile 26.5 g/day of fat. Using a weighted least squares regression analysis we tested whether people residing in the northern zone had a higher index value. Sex, level of education, age and residency in the northern (predominantly rural) zone of the territory were independently associated with the index. These results confirm a prior perception that residents of the more rural zone would have a higher fat consumption index value. The results suggest that this index is sufficiently sensitive for community surveillance purposes.