Young adolescents' nutrition assessment on computer (YANA-C)

Objective: To assess the relative validity and acceptability of the computerised 24-h recall 'Young Adolescent's Nutrition Assessment on Computer ( YANA-C)'. Design: Food and nutrient intakes assessed with YANA-C were compared with food records ( study 1) and 24-h dietary recall interviews ( study 2). Main outcome measures: Intakes of food groups ( fruit, fruit juice, vegetables, potatoes, bread, cereals, milk, cheese, other milk products, soft drinks, diet soft drinks, sugar/sweets, pastry/cookies, savoury snacks, butter/sauces, eggs, fish, meat) and nutrients ( energy, carbohydrates, protein, fat, fiber, calcium, vitamin C and iron). Subjects and setting: A total of 237 pupils ( 11 - 14 y) from two primary and four secondary schools ( study 1: n = 136; study 2: n = 101) in Belgium-Flanders. Results: YANA-C proved to agree well with both standard methods in categorizing subjects in consumers and nonconsumers (kappa(study) (1) = 0.48 - 0.92; kappa(study 2) = 0.38 - 0.90). Spearman's correlations for energy and nutrient intakes ranged between 0.44 and 0.79 for study 1 and between 0.44 and 0.86 for study 2. Nutrient and energy intakes were in general ( excluding calcium) significantly higher in YANA-C in comparison with the food record, but not in comparison with the interview ( only fiber). Statistics used to investigate whether YANA-C agreed with the other methods in ranking portions/amounts in consumers only were fair to moderate for most of the food groups ( weighted kappa study 1 = 0.11 - 0.55; study 2 = 0.04 - 0.73); amounts in consumers only, were significantly lower in YANA-C against both standards for cereals; amounts were significantly higher in YANA-C against the food record for milk, soft drinks, sugar/sweets and savoury snacks and against the interview for potatoes. Only a few pupils evaluated the program negatively. Conclusion: YANA-C is a promising method to collect detailed dietary information from young adolescents with relatively low staff resources, useful in many nutrition research applications.