Validation testing of a short food-group-based questionnaire to assess dietary risk in preschoolers aged 3-5 years

Letter to the Editor:
Accurate measurement of dietary intake is crucial for understanding the relationship between diet and chronic disease, monitoring trends in predictors of health and determining intervention effectiveness. Traditional dietary assessment methods such as food records and recalls are subject to substantial error1, 2 whereas short questionnaire‐style methods enable rapid food intake reporting, increased cooperation and completion,3 and derivation of food‐based data that are useful for monitoring dietary guideline compliance.4 Dietary assessment in young children is particularly challenging due to variation in diet across brief time periods. Thus age‐specific assessment tools are required. The reliable and valid short food‐based Toddler Dietary Questionnaire (TDQ)5, 6 was adapted for use with Australian preschoolers. This study aimed to determine the test–retest reliability, relative validity and convergent validity of this new Preschooler Dietary Questionnaire (PDQ).