Development and validation of the Cholesterol-Saturated Fat Index (CSI) Scorecard: a dietary self-monitoring tool.

OBJECTIVE

The Cholesterol-Saturated Fat Index (CSI) Scorecard was developed and tested as a self-monitoring tool for patients consuming a cholesterol-lowering diet.

SUBJECTS/DESIGN: Twelve nutritionists used the CSI Scorecard to estimate the CSI score of the same five food records. Subsequently, using a revised tool, 12 subjects with hypercholesterolemia estimated the CSI score of their 4-day food records and 11 participated in evaluation meetings.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES

Two-tailed, one-sample t tests and the Spearman rho correlation test were used, respectively, to compare CSI Scorecard estimates of nutritionists and participants to CSI scores obtained from computer calculations.

RESULTS

The CSI scores estimated by the nutritionists were close to the computed scores at the 25th and 75th food record percentiles. The correlation of the estimated CSI scores of participants to the computed scores was rs = .8 (P < .05).

APPLICATION

The CSI Scorecard is a new, simple, quick, and accurate dietary self-monitoring tool patients can use in research centers and primary care settings. By numerically illustrating the saturated fat and cholesterol content of foods, the CSI Scorecard facilitates dietary self-monitoring and, thus, self-efficacy in the adoption and maintenance of a cholesterol-lowering dietary pattern.