Validation of a semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire to assess energy and macronutrient intakes of Cuban Americans

Objective: To assess the validity of a 131-item semiquantative food frequency questionnaire (EFQ) by comparison with multiple food records in Cuban Americans. Design: The Willet FFQ was administered and food consumptions of three random days (two weekdays and one weekend day) were collected. Setting: Cuban Americans residing in Miami. Participants: Twenty adult Cuban American volunteers who participated in a larger epidemiological study to evaluate the dietary risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Results: There were no significant differences in the mean intakes of energy, macronutrients, cholesterol and alcohol estimated by the Willett FFQ and the 3-day food records. For most of the macronutrients the correlation coefficients ranged from 0.14 to 0.71. The correlation coefficient was highest for polyunsaturated fatty acid (r = 0.71, P <0.001) and lowest for protein (r = 0.14, P = 0.56). Correlation coefficients for carbohydrate (r = 0.42) and monounsaturated fatty acid (r = 0.43) were only marginally significant (P = 0.06). Conclusions: Compared with 3-day food records, the Willett FFQ is a reasonable instrument to assess the intakes of most macronutrients and alcohol among Cuban Americans. Further studies should be conducted to validate the usefulness of the Willett EFQ in Cuban Americans for other nutrients.