Helping elderly participants keep 3-day diet records in the New Mexico Aging Process Study

Although verbal and written instructions on how to record dietary intake are commonly used in research, little information has been published describing instructional methods or materials. In the New Mexico Aging Process Study, a longitudinal study of nutrition and aging, participants keep a 3-day diet record each year. Classroom instruction and written materials are used in the study, and they were updated for use with Food Intake Analysis System (FIAS), version 2.3. This article describes the instructional methods and materials used to prepare elderly participants to keep accurate diet records; reports the development of a novel instructional tool, the food description flowcharts; and presents participants' opinions of the quality of the instruction and the usefulness of written materials. Included in the written materials were general instructions for recording food intake, examples of completed food intake and recipe forms, hints for eating out, and instructions for easy-to-use electronic scales. The flowcharts guide participants in accurately describing food intake while matching the coding requirements of FIAS. Fifty participants completed a written survey to evaluate the instructions and written materials. More than half of the respondents found the written materials to be very useful. All found the verbal instruction to be excellent or good. Nutritionists observed that records kept by participants who attended the class were generally complete and specific. The findings indicate that participants were satisfied with the instructions and written materials.