Associations between reported intakes of carotenoid-rich foods and concentrations of carotenoids in plasma: a validation study of a web-based food recall for children and adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To validate estimated intakes of carotenoid-rich foods from a web-based food recall (WebFR) using carotenoids in blood as an objective reference method.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional validation study using carotenoids in plasma to evaluate estimated intakes of selected carotenoid-rich foods. Participants recorded their food intake in the WebFR and plasma concentrations of β-carotene, α-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin, lycopene, lutein and zeaxanthin were measured.

SETTING

Schools and homes of families in a suburb of the capital of Norway.

SUBJECTS

A total of 261 participants in the age groups 8-9 and 12-14 years.

RESULTS

Spearman's rank correlation coefficients ranged from 0·30 to 0·44, and cross-classification showed that 71·6-76·6 % of the participants were correctly classified, when comparing the reported intakes of carotenoid-rich foods and concentrations of the corresponding carotenoids in plasma, not including lutein and zeaxanthin.

CONCLUSIONS

Correlations were acceptable and cross-classification analyses demonstrated that the WebFR was able to rank participants according to their reported intake of foods rich in α-carotene, β-carotene, β-cryptoxanthin and lycopene. The WebFR is a promising tool for dietary assessment among children and adolescents.