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Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ)
Self-administered dietary assessment instrument listing 100-200 foods with frequency categories and (typically) portion-size estimates, used to characterize habitual intake over months to a year.
Also: FFQ
FFQs are inexpensive and scalable for cohort studies but subject to measurement error from recall bias and limited food coverage. Validation against multiple recalls or biomarkers is essential. The Harvard FFQ underpins much of the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study evidence base. MNHD Ch 49 (Kirkpatrick & Tucker) treats FFQs as one tool in a measurement-error-aware multimethod assessment toolkit.
How each textbook covers it
Krause and Mahan's Food and the Nutrition Care Process, 16th ed. — Chapter 4
FFQs are designed for epidemiologic studies because they capture usual long-term intake rather than a single day's intake. They sacrifice precise quantification for the ability to rank individuals by typical exposure. Disease-specific FFQs may focus on particular nutrients (e.g., calcium for osteoporosis, sodium for hypertension).
Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 12th ed. — Ch 49: Dietary Assessment Methods
FFQs are inexpensive and scalable for cohort studies but subject to measurement error from recall bias and limited food coverage. Validation against multiple recalls or biomarkers is essential. The Harvard FFQ underpins much of the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study evidence base. MNHD Ch 49 (Kirkpatrick & Tucker) treats FFQs as one tool in a measurement-error-aware multimethod assessment toolkit.
Related terms
24-Hour Recall, 24-hour recall, Dietary biomarkers, Food Record, Measurement error, Nutrition Assessment