Design of a beverage visual guide to facilitate data collection in research studies.

Introduction: Quantification of water and beverage intake is an emerging topic in nutritional sciences. Different sizes in glasses, cups, bottles and cans have been observed, which contributes to the difficulty in data collection. Objective: To design a visual beverage guide in order to facilitate data collection in nutritional studies. Method: Pictures were taken with a Nikon Coolpix S2800 Digital Camera from 20MP at one of the largest food retailers in Spain, in different cafeterias in the city of Madrid and our laboratory. Different types, brands and sizes of drinks, like water, coffee, beer and wine were photographed, allowing the identification and recognition of that amount in different glasses and cups, to estimate any amount of ingested fluid. Results: A total of 43 photographs were taken. The guide was divided into two parts. In the first part, volumes of liquids are presented in different glasses and cups available. In the second part, different sizes of bottles , cans, etc., are presented. Most of bottles and cans have the amount of fluid in the back of the pack, which makes fluid amount identification more difficult. Conclusions: A specific beverage visual guide has been developed to facilitate data collection, in order to avoid under and over-reporting in nutrition surveys. Supported by European Hydration Institute (E131115081) and Carlos III Health Institute (CB12/03/30038). Im-FINE is a member of the EXERNET research network. Introduction: The proportion of elderly population is increasing globally; however, there are few studies on fluid intake in older adults and specifically on beverage intake throughout the seasons.