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Diet history interviews in the NVS II

By means of diet history interviews, the food consumption of the preceding four weeks of the interview was assessed. The focus was on the participants’ usual or habitual diet. The diet history interviews were conducted in the study centres. For this purpose, the computer-assisted dietary assessment programme DISHES (Diet Interview Software for Health Examination Studies) was used, which was developed by the Robert Koch-Institute and adapted to the requirements of the NVS II. A total of 15,371 diet history interviews were evaluated.

Advantages of this method

  • Usual consumption is recorded.
  • The computer-assisted interview is suitable for a high number of participants.
  • A high degree of standardisation is achieved.
  • Even rarely consumed foods can be recorded.

Disadvantages of this method

  • It can be difficult to remember food consumption of the previous four weeks.
  • The dietary assessment method is more difficult to apply when there are no regular dietary habits.
  • Remembering frequencies and quantities of foods consumed over four weeks requires complex cognitive skills.
  • Detailed descriptions of the foods are only partially possible (e.g. distinguishing between types of preparation such as fried or deep-fried).
  • Subjective influences on the stated consumption quantities are possible (e.g. through personal attitudes, social or religious rules).

Literature on diet history interviews

  • Mensink GBM, Haftenberger M, Thamm M: Validity of DISHES 98, a computerised dietary history interview: energy and macronutrient intake. Eur J Clin Nutr 55 (6), 409–417, 2001
  • Merten C, Ferrari P, Bakker M, Boss A, Hearty A, Leclercq C, Lindtner O, Tlustos C, Verger P, Volatier JL, Arcella D: Methodological characteristics of the national dietary surveys carried out in the European Union as included in the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) comprehensive european food consumption database. Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess 28 (8), 975–995, 2011
  • Rutishauser IH: Dietary intake measurements. Public Health Nutr 8 (7A), 1100–1107, 2005
  • Straßburg A: Ernährungserhebungen - Methoden und Instrumente. Ernährungs-Umschau 57, 422–430, 2010
  • Van Staveren W, Ocké M, De Vries J: Estimation of Dietary Intake. In: Erdman J, Macdonald I, Zeisel S (Hrsg.): Present Knowledge in Nutrition ILSI Press, Ames, Iowa, 1012-1026, 2012