ABSTRACT

Recommendations on the use of available assessment methods are discussed and gaps in our knowledge of dietary assessment in children are outlined, along with suggestions for future research.

The studies included in this review cover a variety of dietary assessment methods including the 24-hour recall, food record, food frequency questionnaire, diet history, and observation. A total of 41 validity and 9 reliability studies used at least one of these methodologies and met the three review criteria: 1) publication in a peer-reviewed English journal article between January 1970 and August 2000; 2) inclusion of school children age 5 to 18 years living in an industrialized country; and 3) reporting of specific reliability and/or validity tests from a minimum sample of 30 children in either the main study sample or a subsample (denoted by age, gender, or ethnic), after the publishing author’s exclusions for analyses. Studies were identified by Medline searches using key words and supplemented by cross-referencing from author reference lists. Studies that did not specifically use the words validity, reliability, reproducibility, or repeatability in the results or discussion may not have been identified. The degree of reliability or validity of the instrument reported was not considered an inclusion factor. Multiple validity or reliability studies that were included in a single article were considered separately and are repeated in the descriptions of results.