Dietary intake and development of a quantitative FFQ for a nutritional intervention to reduce the risk of chronic disease in the Navajo Nation.

OBJECTIVES: To characterize dietary intake for Navajo adults, to identify foods for a nutritional intervention programme and to develop a culturally appropriate quantitative FFQ (QFFQ) for evaluating the impact of the intervention programme.

DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted using 24 h dietary recalls.

SETTING: Navajo Nation, USA.

SUBJECTS: Seventy-nine (forty men, thirty-nine women) aged 18-71 years completed 24 h dietary recalls.

RESULTS: The median daily energy intake was 11 585 kJ (2769 kcal) for men and 8519 kJ (2036 kcal) for women. The greatest contributors to energy were fried potato dishes, sweetened juices/drinks, regular pop, bread, tortillas and burritos (contributing approximately 30 % of total energy intake). The mean number of meat servings was over twice that recommended (2-3 servings recommended v. 7.4 consumed by men and 5.3 by women). The mean servings of vegetables were well below the recommendation of 3-5 servings (1.0 serving for men and 1.2 servings for women). The final QFFQ contains 177 food and drink items.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study found that major contributors to total energy, fat and sugar intakes in the Navajo Nation included mostly processed meats and sweetened drinks. A nutritional intervention will target these foods and promote acceptable and healthier alternatives. In addition, we were able to identify foods and beverages for inclusion on a culturally appropriate QFFQ to assess dietary intake. This QFFQ will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of our intervention on food and food group consumption and nutrient intake.