A Multiday Record-Assisted Fruit, Vegetable, and Snack Questionnaire to Assess Intake Among Fourth and fifth Grade Students

Childhood obesity is a growing area of public health concern in the United States. Fruit and Vegetables (FV) are low energy-dense foods, rich with fiber, nutrients and water. As such, increasing FV consumption is one strategy researchers have proposed to address the obesity epidemic. Schools are good place to target behavioral changes in FV consumption and many different programs have been implemented to help children develop healthy eating habits. An accurate representation of food intake is important in evaluating the efficacy of school-based interventions. Estimation by observation is generally accepted as an accurate measure of food intake, but it is burdensome and resource and time intensive. This study assessed the efficacy of a multiday recordassisted fruit, vegetable, and snack questionnaire (FVSQ) in measuring lunchtime and total daily FV intake. The FVSQ was administered to students during the same period of time that plate-waste photo analysis (PWPA) data was collected in cafeterias. FVSQ data was compared to PWPA data to assess the efficacy of the FVSQ at estimating lunchtime FV consumption. The FVSQ was also compared to skin carotenoid score, a potential biomarker of highly pigmented fruit and vegetable intake. Fourth and fifth grade students from six elementary schools in Northern Utah who were participants in the Food Dudes study were included in these analyses (n=579). This project was funded by the United States Department of Agriculture.