Reliability of the Block Food Frequency Questionnaire Translated to Arabic and Adapted for Kuwaiti Children

Abstract Little is known about the nutrient intakes of Kuwaiti children; this is partly due to a lack of culture-specific dietary assessment instruments to estimate the usual food and nutrient intake of Arab children. Objectives This study aimed to describe the methodology used in translating the 2004 Block food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) for kids to Arabic using adapted food choices commonly consumed by Kuwaiti children, and to evaluate the reliability of the FFQ in a population of fifth grade Kuwaiti children. Research Methods and Procedures The 2004 Block Kids’ FFQ was translated from English to Arabic, and food options were replaced with culturally appropriate foods. The modified FFQ was administered to 367 male and female Kuwaiti fifth graders (age 10.4 ± 0.4 years of age; 53% girls). The FFQ was retested 1 week later in 26 male students, and 4 weeks later in 32 female students. Intraclass correlations (ICC) assessed the reliability between the participants’ first and second FFQs for food groups, macronutrients, and five key micronutrients. Results The combined analysis of boys and girls indicated a moderate reliability for food groups (ICC, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.52–0.80) and micronutrients (ICC, 0.54; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.29–0.72), but was poor for macronutrients (ICC, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.21–0.62). Conclusions The modified FFQ is a modestly reliable instrument for measuring usual dietary intake in Kuwaiti children. The ICC was higher in the boys than in the girls, probably due to the disparity in the FFQ retest time.