Assessment of lifetime patterns of dairy food intake and physical activity

Patterns of nutrition and exercise throughout the life span may account for differences in health problems of aging. The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a simple life span history questionnaire of dairy food intake and to assess recalled levels of leisure time physical activity over the life span. Volunteers, 98 women and 49 men, completed two nutritional surveys (Criterion Questionnaire, ¿CRIQ¿ and Diary Food Index, ¿INDX¿) and a physical activity questionnaire (P-ACTQ) in a test re-test design. The INDX and P-ACTQ consisted of a one to four scale (low to high intake). Dairy food intake averaged 1.4 to 2.3 servings per day with no significant differences in current dairy food intake between decade age categories. When compared to their own recalled 20's decade, dairy food intake declined slightly with age, except for the 80-89 age group which showed an increased intake. Test retest reliability for the INDX was r = 0.64. Validity of the INDX compared to the CRIQ was r = 0.64. All groups showed a decrease in physical activity levels across the life span. The Dairy Food Index holds promise as a simple "global" assessment of dairy food intake for the study of lifetime trends in advancing our understanding of the role of lifetime habits in chronic "lifestyle" diseases.