Development of an interview-administered food-frequency questionnaire for use amongst women of South Asian ethnic origin in Britain

Objectives: To develop an interview-administered food-frequency questionnai re (FFQ) to assess usual long-term intake of foods and nutrients amongst wo men from the largest South Asian communities residing in Britain. Methods: A list of foods and dishes consumed by these South Asian communiti es was compiled from data collected in previous studies. Foods which contri buted to interindividual variation in the intake of the Various macronutrie nts or were rich in fat or fibre were included in the FFQ. Portion size for traditional foods were estimated using sets of eight colour photographs. A nutrient database was modified to make it appropriate for South Asian diet s. The reliability of the FFQ was assessed in a group of volunteer South As ian women (n = 14) of differing regional and religious backgrounds. A preli minary validation exercise was conducted in a group of Punjabi Muslim women (n = 11) who had kept 7-day weighed records 2 years previously. Results: The reliability of this FFQ was high, with most women being classi fied in the same tertile for energy and macronutrient intake in the two int erviews. The main sources of energy and macronutrients identified by the FF Q were similar to those identified by the weighed records but the average n utrient intakes estimated by the FFQ were slightly higher. The level of agr eement between the two dietary methods, measured by the ability of the FFQ to classify women in the same tertile of intake as the weighed records, was high for percentage energy intake from fat, protein and carbohydrates, but less so for absolute nutrient intakes. These results were, however, limite d because of the small sample size. Conclusions: This is the first FFQ specifically designed for South Asian co mmunities in Britain. Despite the diversity of diets, these preliminary fin dings suggest it will be a useful and easy to administer tool in chronic di sease epidemiology to obtain standardized information on long-term usual di etary intake from these communities. A more comprehensive validation of thi s FFQ is now underway.