Racial Differences in Misclassification of Healthy Eating Based on Food Frequency Questionnaire and 24-Hour Dietary Recalls

OBJECTIVES

To examine the agreement in nutrient intake and alternate healthy eating indices (AHEI) between a self-administered Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) and 24-hour recall (24HR) measurements of diet by race, among urban older women.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study.

SETTING

Urban neighborhoods in Washington, DC, USA.

PARTICIPANTS

Community-dwelling White and Black women aged 65 and older.

MEASUREMENTS

In 2014 and 2015, 49 White and 44 Black older women were queried on diet using both FFQ and 24-hour recalls. The correlation coefficients of 55 nutrient intake measures and agreements on healthy eating classification between the two instruments were compared overall and by race.

RESULTS

The mean correlation coefficient (rho) was 0.46 for Whites and 0.23 for Blacks. For 47 measures, rho was lower for Blacks. Whites had a strong correlation of ≥0.5 for 28 items, while Blacks had strong correlations for only 3 items. Based on FFQ, the mean (SD) of AHEI were 54.0 (10.3) for Whites and 45.9 (8.8) for Blacks (p<0.001). Based on 24HR, the mean (SD) were 43.9 (10.8) for Whites and 33.2 (9.6) for Blacks (p<0.001). Using 32 as the cutoff (40% of maximum AHEI score), 50% of Blacks and 14% of Whites were classified as eating unhealthy based on the 24HR, versus 2.6% and 0% based on the FFQ.

CONCLUSION

The FFQ has limited ability to accurately assess nutrient intake among older Black women, and tends to underestimate racial differences in healthy eating. The FFQ should be further improved for use in racial disparities research of healthy eating in older age, using a larger sample of older women with racial and geographic diversities.

Racial Differences in Eating Patterns and Food Purchasing Behaviors among Urban Older Women

OBJECTIVE

To examine differences in diet and food purchasing behaviors between Black and White older women living in urban neighborhoods.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional observational study.

SETTING

Urban neighborhoods in Washington, DC, USA.

PARTICIPANTS

Community-dwelling White and Black women of age 65 and older.

MEASUREMENTS

Participants were queried on diet via 24-hour recalls, food purchasing habits, their use of neighborhood resources and local travel patterns. Frequency and location of self-reported food purchasing and consumption were compared by race.

RESULTS

In 2014 and 2015, 49 White and 44 Black older women were enrolled in the study. Compared to Whites, Blacks reported lower daily caloric intake (mean (SD) 1314 (404) vs. 1529 (448), p=0.02), with a higher percent of calories from protein and fat 1.8 (7.0), p=0.03), and a slightly higher polyunsaturated to saturated fat ratio (p=0.05). Blacks had substantially lower alternate healthy eating index (AHEI) (33.5 (10.2) vs. 43.9 (10.8) of 80 possible points, p<0.001), daily intake (grams) of total fiber (15.3 (8.1) vs. 22.9 (8.5), p<0.001), insoluble fiber (10.8 (6.9) vs. 15.9 (6.5), p<0.001), and soluble fiber (4.5 (2.0) vs. 6.9 (2.8), p<0.001). Blacks had lower intake of micronutrients, alcohol and caffeine. Blacks shopped for groceries less often (4.4 (3.0) vs. 6.2 (3.0) monthly; p=0.006) and spent a longer time traveling to stores (15.8 (9.1) vs. 11.5 (7.2) minutes per trip, p=0.02). A lower percent of Blacks walked to stores (14% vs. 40%, p=0.003) and a higher percent of Blacks rode in a car with someone else (33% vs. 6%, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

In an urban setting, food consumption and purchasing behaviors differed substantially between older Black and White women, which should be further investigated and considered to promote healthy eating in older populations.

Comparing food intake using the Dietary Risk Assessment with multiple 24-hour dietary recalls and the 7-Day Dietary Recall

The Dietary Risk Assessment (DRA) is a brief dietary assessment tool used to identify dietary behaviors associated with cardiovascular disease. Intended for use by physicians and other nondietitians, the DRA identifies healthful and problematic dietary behaviors and alerts the physician to patients who require further nutrition counseling. To determine the relative validity of this tool, we compared it to the 7-Day Dietary Recall (an instrument developed to assess intake of dietary fat) and to the average of 7 telephone-administered 24-hour dietary recalls. Forty-two free-living subjects were recruited into the study. The 7-Day Dietary Recall and DRA were administered to each subject twice, at the beginning and the end of the study period, and the 24-hour recalls were conducted during the intervening time period. Correlation coefficients were computed to compare the food scores derived from the 3 assessment methods. Correlations between the DRA and 7-Day Dietary Recall data were moderate (r = .47, on average, for postmeasures); correlations between the DRA and 24-hour recalls were lower. The ability of the DRA to assess dietary fat consumption and ease of administration make it a clinically useful screening instrument for the physician when counseling patients about dietary fat reduction.