Software to record 24-hour food recall: application in the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents.

INTRODUCTION

The Study of Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents (ERICA) is a national multicenter study whose purpose is to describe the cardiovascular risk profile, including obesity, changes in lipid and glucose metabolism, and blood pressure, of about 75,000 Brazilian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the development of a tool for data collection of 24-hour food recall (REC24h) in ERICA and to report its performance in the pilot study.

METHODS

The Multiple Pass Method was used for the development of the computer program that guides REC24h interview. REC24h-ERICA uses a database composed of 1,626 food items including preparation methods and units of predefined portion sizes. Food consumption data are obtained through interviews and entered directly into REC24h-ERICA, avoiding the use of paper.

RESULTS

The pilot study included 1,367 adolescents, of which 1,047 (77%) responded to REC24h. The researchers did not report difficulties in program use, the average duration of interviews was 20 minutes and the interviewers inserted 50 new food items.

CONCLUSION

The program developed was proven suitable for use in large-population studies, even in a country like Brazil, where there is great diversity in eating habits.