Resumen

HERRAN F, Oscar Fernando; GAMBOA D, Magaly  y  PRADA G, Gloria Esperanza. METHODS FOR THE DERIVATION OF A CHECKLIST IN STUDIES OF DIETARY INTAKE. Rev. chil. nutr. [online]. 2006, vol.33, n.3, pp. 488-497. ISSN 0717-7518.  http://dx.doi.org/10.4067/S0717-75182006000500005.

Given the relationships between diet and illness it is necessary to develop methods to measure food intake correctly. An incorrect measurement translates in an attenuation of epidemiological measurements. The food frequency questionnaire is the simplified method mostly used in the measurements of long term diet. The election of the checklist is the first step in the construction of the questionnaire. A list of twenty foods was derived of a dietary record of 1603 days carried out by 167 adults, to study iron consumption. Four methods were used; experts consent, an orderly list for the relative contribution to the intake, a lineal regression and the one denominated Max_r. Different statistical approaches were used to evaluate the performance of each method. In total, 51 foods were chosen. Max_r reach the best performance (R²w 94 %; R² 86 %), Pearson coefficient was 0.94and Spearman 0.77. Contrary to a previously published suggestion, the linear regression performed poorly. The relative contribution to the intake and the experts consent can be more useful than the linear regression in the design of a checklist of foods

Palabras llave : Food frequency questionnaire; checklist; nutritional epidemiology; methodology; dietary iron; Colombia.