AN EVALUATION OF TELEPHONE AND INTERNET BASED METHODS FOR ASSESSING DIETARY INTAKES

Open Access
- Author:
- Kropp, Chantal Colette
- Area of Honors:
- Nutritional Sciences
- Degree:
- Bachelor of Science
- Document Type:
- Thesis
- Thesis Supervisors:
- Terryl Johnson Hartman, Thesis Supervisor
Terryl Johnson Hartman, Thesis Supervisor
Diane Crisman Mitchell, Thesis Supervisor
Rebecca L Corwin, Thesis Honors Advisor
Gordon Lee Jensen, Faculty Reader - Keywords:
- assessing dietary intakes
telephone dietary intakes
internet dietary intakes
24-hour dietary recalls - Abstract:
- The most common methods of dietary assessment are food frequency questionnaires, food records, and 24-hour dietary recalls (1). Dietary recalls are generally considered to be a “gold standard” for the collection of self-reported food intakes. The relative validity has been well documented in the literature (2). Telephone methods for collecting dietary recalls are the most common, but can be too costly for larger studies. With many advances in technology, new types of dietary assessment methods have become available. One such method is an automated self-assessment using Internet-based software, which can be used as a low cost alternative to 24-hour dietary recall data collection. There are, however, limited data to demonstrate the feasibility and validity relative to other more traditional methods. The objective of this thesis is to determine the feasibility of this newer technology and to compare and contrast the two different methods: traditional telephone vs. an Internet based method of assessing dietary intake. The results suggest that an Internet-based method was feasible but required some effort to obtain complete data from participants. Results also indicate that the telephone 24-hour dietary recalls were more seamless and effective when trying to enter foods that were not in a normal diet or in mixed dishes. However, most participants found that the Internet assessment process was more anonymous and convenient with their hectic lifestyles.