Thematic Area 1: Methods

TA 1: Development of novel methods and technologies in nutritional and behavioral sciences

How to assess dietary intake?

Accurate dietary assessment is crucial in nutritional epidemiological studies. Recent approaches promote the use of a combination of short- and longer-term instruments. In TA1 methods will be developed for dietary assessment as well as standardized approaches for dietary pattern analysis that will be used in TA2TA3, TA4 and TA5.

Web-based 24h dietary recall (DR)

TA 1 will implement a web-based 24hDR Study participants are requested to log in onto a secure website and provide a detailed report of their food intake over the previous day. Food items can be searched for using a search function and are displayed in a drop-down menu. Items in the database are those items in the German Food Code. Participants will be required to report the type of food, the time of consumption, and the amount consumed. With a pop-up window, participants are probed with a number of questions about often forgotten items . In the early phase a feasibility study will be conducted. to assess usability and completion times . A subsequent validation study will be embedded within the Rhineland study.

Smartphone-based 3-d dietary record

The paper-and-pencil 3-d weighed dietary record method used in the DONALD study will be converted into a smartphone-based 3-d dietary record. The smartphone app will enable foods to be recorded by mealtime over a 3-d period. In case it is not possible to weigh the foods, the app will be accompanied by a picture booklet for the estimation of portion sizes,. Modules to calculate food and nutrient intake will be developed. After the app has been programmed it will be tested for feasibility and validity.

Dietary pattern analysis

Dietary pattern analysis will be conducted to investigate the association between nutrition and neurodegenerative diseases. Dietary patterns or other standardized procedures for the analysis of dietary patterns, for example the use of food groups or another technique to generate hypothesis based patterns will be examined in different cohorts (AgeCoDe, DELCODE). The scientists will conduct dietary pattern analysis on data collected in the Rhineland study and will provide either the dietary pattern or the standardized operating procedures for analysis to determine diet-disease relations in the adult DietBB cohorts (Rhineland Study, AgeCoDe, DELCODE) using identical assessment instruments.

Prof. Dr. Ute Nöthlings (coordination)
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences
Nutritional Epidemiology
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Bonn

Endenicher Allee 19b
D-53115 Bonn
Ph. +49 228 73 60490
Fax +49 228 73 60493
noethlings(at)uni-bonn.de

Dr. Alexander Markowetz
Institute of Computer Science III
University of Bonn

Römerstraße 164
D-53117 Bonn
Ph. +49 228 73 7409
Fax. +49 228 73 4382
alex(at)iai.uni-bonn.de

Dr. Johanna Conrad
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences
Nutritional Epidemiology
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Bonn

Endenicher Allee 19b
D-53115 Bonn
Ph. +49 228 73 2068
Fax +49 228 73 60493
jconrad(at)uni-bonn.de 

Ionut Andone
Institute of Computer Science III
University of Bonn

Römerstraße 164
D-53117 Bonn

Stefanie Koch
Institute of Nutritional and Food Sciences
Nutritional Epidemiology
Faculty of Agriculture
University of Bonn

Endenicher Allee 19b
D-53115 Bonn
Ph. +49 228 73 2068
Fax +49 228 73 60493
s.koch(at)uni-bonn.de