Development of an Innovative Tool for Assessment of Dietary Intake in the Fasting Month of Ramadan- A Ramadan-Specific Food Frequency Questionnaire
Development of an Innovative Tool for Assessment of Dietary Intake in the Fasting Month of Ramadan- A Ramadan-Specific Food Frequency Questionnaire
Rahmat Gul1*, Imran Khan1, Iftikhar Alam2, Zia Uddin1 and Zafar Iqbal3
ABSTRACT
Dietary habits, both in terms of amount of food and variety of food, during the month of Ramadan are different from those during non-Ramadan period of the year. Therefore, general Food Frequency Questionnaire are not capable to report on dietary intake in Ramadan. T o define the design of a Food Frequency Questionnaire to be used for the assessment of food intake during the fasting month of Ramadan. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2018. Data on food intake was collected using a 24-hour dietary recall during the fasting month of Ramadan in 2018 from a sample of 109 (majority men; 60.5%) . Based on these data, using the frequency of report and on the contribution to the intake of energy and nutrients in the 24-HDR, 80 distinct food items were identified that are commonly used during Ramadan. Respective reference servings of these food items were selected to comprise the Food Frequency Questionnaire food list. The most reported portion sizes in the 24-HDR were used for Reference defining portions. The Food Frequency Questionnaire has a final list of 80 food items, which were categorized as cereal or equivalents (n = 18), vegetables (n = 10), pulses (n = 8), meat/organ meat or alternatives (n = 6), fruits (n = 12), beverages (n = 12), miscellaneous (n = 14), and functional foods (n = 7). The Food Frequency Questionnaire list comprised 80 food items organized by food groups with eight categories of frequency of consumption. In conclusion, the Food Frequency Questionnaire included the most relevant food items in Ramadan fasting month. Ramadan specific Food Frequency Questionnaire has great utility for dietary intake in the fasting month of Ramadan.
To share on other social networks, click on any share button. What are these?
