Validity and reliability of a calcium checklist in early elementary-school children

Abstract

Objective: To create, validate and assess the reliability of a checklist to measure calcium intake in children. Design: Calcium intakes from a checklist and parent-assisted 24-h dietary recall were compared. Checklist reliability was assessed separately. Setting: After-school programmes in the United States. Subjects: Forty-two children (18 males, 24 females, age = 8.0 ± 0.9 years) participated in the validation analysis and 49 children (28 males, 21 females, age = 7.5 ± 0.9 years) in the reliability analysis. Results: No differences in mean calcium intakes were found by method or gender. The checklist correlated well with recall among girls (r = 0.65, P = 0.01) but not boys (r = -0.33, P = 0.19). Agreement over time was above 80% for most foods. Conclusion: The calcium checklist is useful for assessing calcium intake among groups of 6 - 10-year-old children in settings that preclude parental assistance. More research is needed to improve accuracy among boys. © 2007 The Authors.