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FFQ Sum scores

Researchers from Wageningen University & Research (WUR) developed sum scores for the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) from adult participants. The FFQ consists of one basic questionnaire covering the macronutrient intake (heart of the flower) which has been assessed at 1A and three shorter questionnaires (the petals) covering (micro)nutrients assessed at 1B, 1C, and 2A. (sections: nutrition (Flower FFQ) and secondary & linked variables))
Using the FFQ Sum scores from 1A, an ultra-processed food categorization has been generated and is available for use as well.

The FFQ sum scores can be requested in the Lifelines catalogue or by email (data@lifelines.nl). When this data has been used in your research, you will have to include a reference to the following paper:

Optional paper for complete FFQ questionnaire:


FFQ questionnaire

A Food Frequency Questionnaire consists of a foodlist with a frequency response section for subjects to report how often each item was consumed over a specified period of time (in this case: one month). Data collection is therefore retrospective. From the answers given in a FFQ, nutrient intake can be estimated by calculations made with computerized software programs that multiply the reported frequency of each food item by the amount of nutrient in a serving of that food. A reference database is used to establish the nutrient content of each food item. FFQ data are assumed to be representative of habitual intake and can be used to rank individuals according to intake.

Lifelines participants aged 18 years and older complete four questionnaires on their food intake: one main questionnaire at baseline to estimate energy and macronutrient intake and three questionnaires on specific (micro)nutrients, i.e. a questionnaire on b-vitamins (questionnaire A), one on fatty acids (questionnaire B), and a vitamin ACE questionnaire (questionnaire C). The information from the questionnaires on specific nutrients can only be interpreted by combining this information with the information from the main questionnaire at baseline.


Creating the FFQ sum scores

From the food intake as reported in the total FFQ, the following information was calculated:

  1. The intake in grams of all foods included in the FFQ per person per day.
  2. The energy, macronutrients and micronutrients delivered by these foods.
  3. The total energy, macronutrient and micronutrients intake per person per day.

1. Intake in grams per person per day

The questions on the intake of a certain food group generally consist of three parts:

  1. The frequency of consumption is reported in days per week
  2. The number of servings per day on days that the specific food was eaten is specified
  3. The types of the food consumed are reported (for example: white chocolate, milk chocolate and dark chocolate)

To calculate the absolute intake of foods in grams per day the following formula was used: frequency of consumption * number of servings * serving size (* food item * correction factor serving size)

Preprocessing:

  • Frequency of consumption: it is assumed that a month includes 28 days (reference periode is 4 weeks). The frequency 'one day per week' will therefore receive the value 0.14 (4/28)
  • Food items eaten within a food group are assigned a value according to the frequency of their consumption: never = 0, sometimes = 0.33, often = 0.67, always = 1.
  • Contributions of every food item to the total consumption within the food group are recalculated so that they add up to 1, in order to make them evenly distributed.
  • Serving size and correction factor serving size are based on external sources (NEVO table 2011).


2. Energy, macronutrients and micronutrients deliverd by food

When the consumption of each food item as included in the FFQ was calculated in grams per day, the consumed amount in grams was multiplied by the nutrient content of that food item as reported in the NEVO table 2011, in order to calculate the nutrient intake for each participant on a food level.

3. Total energy, macronutrient and micronutrient intake per person per day

The total energy, macronutrient and micronutrient intake per person per day is calculated by adding up the energy and nutrient intake through all separate food items included in the FFQ for each participant.

Remarks from WUR researchers

The WUR researchers listed the following points of attention:

  • Extreme values have not been corrected: Answers given to general questions on the diet as included in each FFQ questionnaire may be used to explain extreme values, but they have not been used to correct for extreme values in any way. It is up to individual researchers to include or exclude participants with extreme values in their analyses.
  • Not all missing values are treated equally: When frequency of consumption is missing, the whole question cannot be interpreted and data for this food are not included in the calculations of total nutrient intake. Resulting in the possibility of underestimation of total daily intake of some nutrients for this participants. When the number of servings and/or the food items consumed are missing, standard answers are used for calculations (according to the Dutch National Food Consumption Survey 1998). Because these are standard answers established for the whole population, the consumption of the food in grams per day and the intake of certain nutrients may be over- or underestmiated.


Variables

Below the total intake per person per day for different energy/macronutrient/micronutrient variables are listed.

Label English Label Dutch Code Variable Assessment Age
total added sugar delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan sucrose geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) addedsugar_intake_adu_c_1 sumofadd_sug sec * 18+
total alcohol intake in g/day (ffq heart) totale inname van alcohol in g/dag (ffq hart) alcohol_intake_adu_c_1 sumofalcohol sec * 18+
total alcohol intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van alcohol in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) alcohol_intake_adu_c_2 alcohol sec * 18+
total animal protein intake in g/day (ffq heart) totale inname van dierlijke eiwitten in g/dag (ffq hart) animalprotein_intake_adu_c_1 sumofeiwitdier sec * 18+
total animal protein intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van dierlijke eiwitten in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) animalprotein_intake_adu_c_2 eiwitdier sec * 18+
total calcium intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van calcium in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) calcium_intake_adu_c_1 calcium sec * 18+
total carbohydrate intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van koolhydraten in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) carbohydrate_intake_adu_c_2 khtot sec * 18+
total carbohydrate intake in g/day (ffq heart) totale inname van koolhydraten in g/dag (ffq hart) carbohydrates_intake_adu_c_1 sumofkhtot sec * 18+
total omega-3 fatty acid dha intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van omega-3 vetzuur (dha) in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) dha_intake_adu_c_1 dha sec * 18+
total omega-3 fatty acid epa intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van omega-3 vetzuur (epa) in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) epa_intake_adu_c_1 epa sec * 18+
total fat intake in g/day (ffq heart) (ffq heart) totale inname van vet in g/dag (ffq hart) fat_intake_adu_c_1 sumofvettot sec * 18+
total fat intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van vetten in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) fat_intake_adu_c_2 vettot sec * 18+
reliability of the results betrouwbaarheid van de waarden ffq_reliability_adu_c_1 betrouwbaarheid sec * 18+
reliability of the results (ffq heart + petals) betrouwbaarheid van de waarden (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) ffq_reliability_adu_c_2 betrouwbaarheid_2 sec * 18+
total dietary fiber intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van voedingsvezel in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) fiber_intake_adu_c_1 vezel sec * 18+
total folate (natural folic acid) intake in mcg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van folaat (van nature aanwezig foliumzuur) in mcg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) folate_intake_adu_c_1 folaat sec * 18+
total folic acid equivalent intake in mcg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van foliumzuur equivalent in mcg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) folicacid_intake_adu_c_1 foleq sec * 18+
total free sugar delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan vrije suikers geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) freesugar_intake_adu_c_1 sumoffree_sug sec * 18+
total fructose delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan fructose geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) fructose_intake_adu_c_1 sumoffructose sec * 18+
total glucose intake in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan glucose geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) glucose_intake_adu_c_1 sumofglucose sec * 18+
total glycemic index delivered by all food items per day (ffq heart) totale glycemic index geleverd door alle voedingsitems per dag (ffq hart) glycindex_intake_adu_c_1 sumofglyc_ind sec * 18+
total glycemic load delivered by all food items per day (ffq heart) totale glycemic load geleverd door alle voedingsitems per dag (ffq hart) glycload_intake_adu_c_1 sumofglyc_load sec * 18+
total energy intake per day expressed in kcal (ffq heart) totale inname van energie per dag, uitgedrukt in kcal (ffq hart) kcal_intake_adu_c_1 sumofkcal sec * 18+
total energy intake per day expressed in kcal (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van energie per dag, uitgedrukt in kcal (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) kcal_intake_adu_c_2 kcal sec * 18+
total energy intake per day expressed in kj (ffq heart) totale inname van energie per dag, uitgedrukt in kj (ffq hart) kjoule_intake_adu_c_1 sumofkj sec * 18+
total energy intake per day expressed in kj (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van energie per dag, uitgedrukt in kj (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) kjoule_intake_adu_c_2 kj sec * 18+
total lactose delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan lactose geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) lactose_intake_adu_c_1 sumoflactose sec * 18+
total maltose delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan maltose geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) maltose_intake_adu_c_1 sumofmaltose sec * 18+
total mono- and disaccharide delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan mono- en disacchariden geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) modisacch_intake_adu_c_1 sumofmodis sec * 18+
total mono- and disaccharide intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van mono-en disacchariden in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) modisacch_intake_adu_c_2 monodisacch sec * 18+
total monounsaturated fatty acid intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van enkelvoudige onverzadigde vetzuren in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) mufa_intake_adu_c_1 eovz sec * 18+
total plant protein intake in g/day (ffq heart) totale inname van plantaardige eiwitten in g/dag (ffq hart) plantprotein_intake_adu_c_1 sumofeiwitplant sec * 18+
total plant protein intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van plantaardige eiwitten in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) plantprotein_intake_adu_c_2 eiwitplant sec * 18+
total polysaccharide delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan polysacchariden geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) polysacch_intake_adu_c_1 sumofpolys sec * 18+
total polysaccharide intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van polysacchariden in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) polysacch_intake_adu_c_2 polysacch sec * 18+
total protein intake in g/day (ffq heart) totale inname van eiwitten in g/dag (ffq hart) protein_intake_adu_c_1 sumofeiwittot sec * 18+
total protein intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van eiwitten in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) protein_intake_adu_c_2 eiwittot sec * 18+
total polyunsaturated fatty acid intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van meervoudige onverzadigde vetzuren in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) pufa_intake_adu_c_1 movz sec * 18+
total retinol activity equivalent intake in mcg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van retinol activiteit equivalent in mcg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) rae_intake_adu_c_1 rae sec * 18+
total retinol equivalents intake in mcg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van retinol equivalenten in mcg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) retinoleq_intake_adu_c_1 reteq sec * 18+
total saturated fatty acid intake in g/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van verzadigde vetzuren in g/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) sfa_intake_adu_c_1 vetverz sec * 18+
total sucrose delivered by all food items in g/day (ffq heart) totaal aan sucrose geleverd door alle voedingsitems in g/dag (ffq hart) sucrose_intake_adu_c_1 sumofsucrose sec * 18+
total vitamin b12 intake in mcg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van vitamine b12 in mcg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) vitb12_intake_adu_c_1 vitb12 sec * 18+
total vitamin b2 intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van vitamine b2 in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) vitb2_intake_adu_c_1 vitb2 sec * 18+
total vitamin b6 intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van vitamine b6 in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) vitb6_intake_adu_c_1 vitb6 sec * 18+
total vitamin c intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van vitamine c in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) vitc_intake_adu_c_1 vitc sec * 18+
total vitamin e intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van vitamine e in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) vite_intake_adu_c_1 vite sec * 18+
total haem iron intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van heemijzer in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) ironhaem_intake_adu_c_1 ijzerhaem sec * 18+
total non-haem iron intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van non-heemijzer in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) ironnonhaem_intake_adu_c_1 ijzernonhaem sec * 18+
total iron intake in mg/day (ffq heart + petals) totale inname van ijzer in mg/dag (ffq hart + bloemblaadjes) irontot_intake_adu_c_1 ijzertot sec * 18+

* All FFQ sum scores included as assessment 'sec' as the sum scores include several assessments.

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ffq_sum_scores.txt · Last modified: 2024/01/29 12:44 by laura