Dietary Assessment Paper

An important aspect of nutrition is monitoring and preventing chronic disease in a population as a whole. Dietary assessment is a form of public health intervention that allows nutritionist to study dietary patterns and intake among the community. In this paper, I will focus on three particular assessment methods, which consist of 24-hour recall, three-day food diary, and NHANES food frequency questionnaire. I will compare and contrast these three methods of dietary assessments, as well as discuss the limitations and beneficial factors of each method. Also, I will review and compare my results from my dietary intake. The three dietary assessment methods, 24-hour recall, three-day food diary, and NHANES food frequency questionnaire, share

This method can be conducted in two ways. The first method is done as an interview process, where the interviewer asks questions to the respondent to help them recall their previous food and beverage consumption. The questions asked are called probing questions, because interviewers help remind participants of ingredients or details previously forgotten. This effective method helps provide more information about the interviewee’s daily consumption, however the questions must remain neutral to avoid any judgement. In contrast, the second method of the 24-hour recall is self-administered online. Participants have the flexibility to input their dietary intake on an Automated Self-Administered (ASA) database that provides a breakdown of each nutrient. Both methods of the 24-hour recall ask participants to specific the measurements of each meal and beverage to provide accurate results. Unlike the 24- hour recall, the three-day food diary asks participants to record their food and beverage intake over a span of three consecutive days [1]. Respondents are asked to write down their

The 24-hour recall that involved an interviewer was a beneficial factor in calculating the intake value because the probing questions brought attention to details the respondent might have forgotten. For example, if the respondent had sugar in their coffee. However, a limitation of having an interviewer is the respondent may feel as if he or she will be judged for their choice, therefore refrain for sharing certain meals or beverages. This can negatively affect calculating the mean intake because not all nutrients are represented in the data. In the ASA 24-hour recall a useful aspect is that participants were able to complete the recall at their convenience, which may make participants feel more comfortable to report their intake. A limitation of this method is participants may underreport or over report on their consumption because it may difficult to specify the exact measurements of their food and beverage intake using the online pictures. The three-day food dairy is useful for calculating mean nutrient intake of an individual because participants record their exact intake while they consume the meal or beverage. This helps the participant remember the exact measurements of the food and drinks consumed. However, a limitation is participants may change their diet since they are more aware of what they are eating