Pedro T Pisa1, Edwige Landais1,2, Barrie Margetts3, Hester H Vorster4, Christine M Friedenreich5, Inge Huybrechts1, Yves Martin-Prevel2, Francesco Branca6, Warren T K Lee7, Catherine Leclercq7, Johann Jerling4, Francis Zotor8, Paul Amuna9, Ayoub Al Jawaldeh10, Olaide Ruth Aderibigbe11, Waliou Hounkpatin Amoussa12, Cheryl A M Anderson13, Hajer Aounallah-Skhiri14, Madjid Atek15, Chakare Benhura16, Jephat Chifamba17, Namukolo Covic18, Omar Dary19, Hélène Delisle20, Jalila El Ati21, Asmaa El Hamdouchi22, Karima El Rhazi23, Mieke Faber24, Alexander Kalimbira25, Liisa Korkalo26, Annamarie Kruger27, James Ledo28, Tatenda Machiweni17, Carol Mahachi17, Nonsikelelo Mathe29, Alex Mokori30, Claire Mouquet-Rivier2, Catherine Mutie31, Hilde Liisa Nashandi32, Shane A Norris33, Oluseye Olusegun Onabanjo34, Zo Rambeloson35, Foudjo Brice U Saha36, Kingsley Ikechukwu Ubaoji37, Sahar Zaghloul38, Nadia Slimani1. 1. a Dietary Exposure Assessment Group, International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC-WHO) , Lyon , France. 2. b Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), UMR 204 Nutripass, IRD-UM2-UM1 , Montpellier , France. 3. c Institute of Human Nutrition, University of Southampton , Southampton , UK , and World Public Health Nutrition. 4. d Centre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), North-West University , Potchefstroom , South Africa , and African Nutrition Leadership Programme. 5. e Department of Population Health Research, Cancer Control Alberta, Alberta Health Services , and Departments of Oncology and Community Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine , University of Calgary , Calgary, Alberta , Canada. 6. f Department of Nutrition for Health and Development, World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarter , Geneva , Switzerland. 7. g Nutrition Division, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations , Rome , Italy. 8. h University of Health and Allied Sciences, Hohoe, and African Nutrition Society (ANS) , Accra , Ghana. 9. i Department of Life Sciences , University of Greenwich , Kent , UK , and African Nutrition Society (ANS), Accra, Ghana. 10. j Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean (EMRO), World Health Organization (WHO) , Cairo , Egypt. 11. k National Horticultural Research Institute , Ibadan , Oyo State , Nigeria. 12. l Département de Nutrition et de Sciences Alimentaires , Faculté des Sciences Agronomiques, Université d'Abomey-Calavi , Cotonou , Bénin. 13. m Department of Family and Preventive Medicine , San Diego School of Medicine, University of California , San Diego , CA , USA. 14. n National Institute of Public Health, and Research Laboratory SURVEN (Nutritional Surveillance and Epidemiology in Tunisia) , Tunis , Tunisia. 15. o National Institute of Public Health (INSP) , Algiers , Algeria. 16. p Institute of Food, Nutrition and Family Sciences, University of Zimbabwe , Harare , Zimbabwe. 17. q Physiology Department, College of Health Sciences , University of Zimbabwe , Harare , Zimbabwe. 18. r Centre of Excellence for Nutrition (CEN), School of Physiology, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, North-West University , Potchefstroom , South Africa. 19. s Abt Associates , Cambridge , Uganda. 20. t TRANSNUT, WHO Collaborating Centre on Nutrition Changes and Development, Department of Nutrition , University of Montreal , Montreal , Canada. 21. u National Institute of Nutrition and Food Technology (INNTA), and Research Laboratory SURVEN (Nutritional Surveillance and Epidemiology in Tunisia) , Tunis , Tunisia. 22. v Unité Mixte de Recherche en Nutrition et Alimentation (URAC 39), Université Ibn Tofaïl - CNESTEN , Rabat-Kénitra , Morocco. 23. w Faculté de Médecine et de Pharmacie de Fès, Laboratoire d'Epidémiologie , Recherche Clinique et Santé Communautaire , Fès , Morocco. 24. x Non-Communicable Diseases Research Unit, Medical Research Council , Cape Town , South Africa. 25. y Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources , Lilongwe , Malawi. 26. z Department of Food and Environmental Sciences , University of Helsinki , Finland. 27. aa Africa Unit for Transdisciplinary Health Research (AUTHeR), Faculty of Health Sciences, North-West University , Potchefstroom , South Africa. 28. ab DietPlus , Tema , Ghana. 29. ac Alliance for Canadian Health Outcomes Research in Diabetes, School of Public Health, University of Alberta , Edmonton , Canada. 30. ad John Snow Inc. (JSI), Research and Training Institute , Kampala , Uganda. 31. ae Ministry of Education, Science and Technology , Nairobi , Kenya. 32. af Ministry of Health and Social Services, Non-Communicable Diet-Related Diseases and Nutrition in HIV, Food and Nutrition Subdivision , Windhoek , Namibia. 33. ag MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Department of Paediatrics, Faculty of Health Sciences , University of the Witwatersrand , Johannesburg , South Africa. 34. ah Department of Human Nutrition & Dietetics , Federal University of Agriculture , Abeokuta , Ogun State , Nigeria. 35. ai FHI 360, North Carolina , USA. 36. aj Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science , University of Yaoundé I , Yaoundé , Cameroon. 37. ak Department of Applied Biochemistry, Faculty of Biosciences , Nnamdi Azikiwe University , Awka , Anambra State , Nigeria. 38. al National Nutrition Institute , Cairo , Egypt.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To carry out an inventory on the availability, challenges, and needs of dietary assessment (DA) methods in Africa as a pre-requisite to provide evidence, and set directions (strategies) for implementing common dietary methods and support web-research infrastructure across countries. METHODS: The inventory was performed within the framework of the "Africa's Study on Physical Activity and Dietary Assessment Methods" (AS-PADAM) project. It involves international institutional and African networks. An inventory questionnaire was developed and disseminated through the networks. Eighteen countries responded to the dietary inventory questionnaire. RESULTS: Various DA tools were reported in Africa; 24-Hour Dietary Recall and Food Frequency Questionnaire were the most commonly used tools. Few tools were validated and tested for reliability. Face-to-face interview was the common method of administration. No computerized software or other new (web) technologies were reported. No tools were standardized across countries. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of comparable DA methods across represented countries is a major obstacle to implement comprehensive and joint nutrition-related programmes for surveillance, programme evaluation, research, and prevention. There is a need to develop new or adapt existing DA methods across countries by employing related research infrastructure that has been validated and standardized in other settings, with the view to standardizing methods for wider use.
OBJECTIVE: To carry out an inventory on the availability, challenges, and needs of dietary assessment (DA) methods in Africa as a pre-requisite to provide evidence, and set directions (strategies) for implementing common dietary methods and support web-research infrastructure across countries. METHODS: The inventory was performed within the framework of the "Africa's Study on Physical Activity and Dietary Assessment Methods" (AS-PADAM) project. It involves international institutional and African networks. An inventory questionnaire was developed and disseminated through the networks. Eighteen countries responded to the dietary inventory questionnaire. RESULTS: Various DA tools were reported in Africa; 24-Hour Dietary Recall and Food Frequency Questionnaire were the most commonly used tools. Few tools were validated and tested for reliability. Face-to-face interview was the common method of administration. No computerized software or other new (web) technologies were reported. No tools were standardized across countries. CONCLUSIONS: The lack of comparable DA methods across represented countries is a major obstacle to implement comprehensive and joint nutrition-related programmes for surveillance, programme evaluation, research, and prevention. There is a need to develop new or adapt existing DA methods across countries by employing related research infrastructure that has been validated and standardized in other settings, with the view to standardizing methods for wider use.