Food Frequency Questionnaires in Estimating Food Nutrient Intake in Healthy Young Adults

PRIMARY OBJECTIVES:

I. To examine the relationship between estimated intakes of dietary carotenoids using three different FFQ's and comparing them with estimated carotenoid intake from 3 day diet records and blood and skin measurements.

OUTLINE:

Participants complete the Willett FFQ, the Fred Hutchinson FFQ, and the newly developed Clinton Carotenoid Assessment Tool (CCAT), in random order over a 3 to 4-month period of time with 4-6 weeks between each visit. Prior to each visit, participants also complete a 3-day diet record, a daily sun exposure diary, and a 3-day activity record. Blood samples are collected for plasma carotenoid assessment and and skin carotenoid content is assessed using a resonance Raman spectroscopy.

Inclusion criteria

• Be literate and able to understand English
• Have a body mass index (BMI) between 18.5 and 30 kg/m^2; this represents the lowest end of the healthy BMI range and the upper limit of the overweight BMI range for our target age range
• Be a non-smoker (defined as adults who have never smoked or who have not had a cigarette in the past ten years)
• Not currently be taking any vitamins, minerals, or dietary supplements (or agree to discontinue use for the duration of the study) and agree to consume a standardized daily multivitamin for the remainder of the study (CVS One Daily)
• Voluntarily agree to participate and sign an informed consent document
• Agree to three separate blood draws
• Agree to three separate spectroscopy scans to assess skin carotenoid levels
• Agree to complete three separate 3-day diet records, three separate 3-day activity records, and one habitual physical activity questionnaire

Exclusion criteria

• Have an active metabolic or digestive illness, including malabsorptive disorders, renal insufficiency, hepatic insufficiency, hyper- or hypothyroidism, cachexia, morbid obesity, or short bowel syndrome
• Have an active or a recent history of any condition that causes altered immunity, such as chronic inflammatory disease, autoimmune disorders, cancer, anemia, and blood dyscrasias
• Are heavy alcohol consumers (defined as an average consumption of greater than 2 drinks/day)