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Supplement: The Examination of Two Short Dietary Assessment Methods, within the Context of Multiple Behavioral Change Interventions in Adult Populations

Preface^1,2

Behavioral Research Program, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, MD 20892-7344

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: nebelinl{at}mail.nih.gov.

The Behavior Change Consortium (BCC)³ was established in response to a Request for Applications announcement, by the NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research, in October 1997. The BCC initiative focused on the "Innovative Approaches to Disease Prevention through Behavior Change." The goal was to promote innovative strategies designed to achieve long-term health behavior change in the areas of tobacco use, sedentary lifestyle, poor diet, and alcohol abuse (1). The BCC represented a groundbreaking partnership in the behavioral sciences among 17 Offices and Institutes of the NIH, the American Heart Association, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (2). These focal behaviors were selected because of their widespread implications for negative health outcomes across numerous chronic diseases, including a variety of cancers. Fifteen research grants were awarded, and a consortium was established to enable cross-site collaborations.

The BCC Nutrition Working Group (NWG) is 1 of 10 distinct workgroups that were established to deal with common issues such as sharing strategies for recruitment and retention, enhancing and documenting treatment fidelity of intervention efforts, testing and refining common methodologies, identifying and measuring major mediators and transbehavioral outcomes, and contributing to lessons learned about translation of research to practice (1).

The NWG comprises 7 BCC sites and 2 federal agencies: University of Rhode Island, Harvard School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon Research Institute, Illinois Institute of Technology, Emory University, University of Rochester, the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and the Office of Dietary Supplements. The 7 sites received supplemental funding from NCI and Office of Dietary Supplements to explore the measurement characteristics and utility of 2 brief dietary screening instruments originally developed by NCI and to evaluate the use of dietary supplements across different populations. The supplemental funds initiated a unique opportunity to 1) determine the sensitivity of a Fat and a Fruit and Vegetable Screener, 2) measure change in dietary behavior over time, and 3) examine factors that may produce bias in diverse adult populations participating in intervention trials of dietary behavior change. This special issue reports the findings and lessons learned.

Pulling 7 independent projects together to identify a common ground for dietary measures was challenging. It required careful thought, dedication, cooperation, and commitment from multiple investigators. In addition, consistent communication was essential as these partners worked toward a common goal (3). The NCI screeners selected for this project had been validated and tested in adult populations (4). The BCC NWG study would expand our understanding of the limits and strengths of these tools. With the publication of this special issue, the members of the BCC NWG and I hope that the reader will find the body of work presented here to be informative and useful. Many of the methodological challenges faced and lessons learned are captured here for the benefit of the many readers of this journal special issue. This will allow interested colleagues to apply the methods and screeners described here with greater confidence and knowledge of their working characteristics.

This supplement would not have been possible without the dedication and commitment of numerous individuals in the BCC NWG and the NCI. The scientists who have contributed to this special issue have brought tremendous knowledge to the field, and their efforts are appreciated. It has been a privilege to work with this group of dedicated experts. Special appreciation must go to Tom Hurley and James Hébert at the University of South Carolina, who kept the statistical engine for this effort going forward despite many uphill climbs along the way. Appreciation is extended also to Robert Croyle, Ph.D., Director, Division of Cancer Control and Population Sciences, who supported the proposal to provide NCI supplemental funds to grants in the BCC NWG. I sincerely hope that this supplement will encourage more investigators to apply the tools and methods described here with greater understanding of their performance to assess dietary behaviors in diverse populations.

	FOOTNOTES

 
¹ Published in a supplement to The Journal of Nutrition. This effort was organized by the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the Behavior Change Consortium (BCC) Nutrition Working Group (NWG) to present the outcome data from a multidisciplinary collaboration from 7 BCC sites and 2 federal agencies: University of Rhode Island, Harvard School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon Research Institute, Illinois Institute of Technology, Emory University, University of Rochester, the NCI, and the Office of Dietary Supplements. The BCC NWG was supported by National Institutes of Health funding initiative RFA OD-93-002 with additional NCI supplemental funding R01AG16588, R01HD37368, R01AR45901, R01HL62156, R01HL62158, R01HL64959, and R01MH59594. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private ones of the authors and are not to be considered as official or reflecting the views of the National Institutes of Health. Guest Editors: Shirley A. A. Beresford, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, Lisa M. Klesges, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, Memphis, TN, and Helaine R. H. Rockett, Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Guest Editor disclosure: S. A. A. Beresford, L. M. Klesges, and H. R. H. Rockett will receive compensation from NCI, DCCPS, BRP for editorial services provided for this supplement publication; L. M. Klesges was a member of the BCC.

² Author disclosure: L. Nebeling, no conflicts of interest.

³ Abbreviations used: BCC, Behavior Change Consortium; NCI, National Cancer Institute; NWG, Nutrition Working Group.

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TOP LITERATURE CITED

 

1. Solomon S, Kington R. National efforts to promote behavior-change research: views from the Office of Behavior and Social Sciences Research. Health Educ Res. 2002;17:495–9.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2. Ory MG, Jordan PG, Bazzarre T. The Behavior Change Consortium: setting the stage for a new century of health behavior-change research. Health Educ Res. 2002;17:500–11.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

3. Greene GW, Nebeling L, Greaney ML, Lindsay AC, Hardwick CK, Toobert DJ, Resnicow K, Williams GC, Elliot DL, et al. A qualitative study of a Nutrition Working Group. Health Promot Pract. 2007;8:299–306.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

4. Thompson FE, Subar AF, Smith AF, Midthune D, Radimer KL, Kahle LL, Kipnis V. Fruit and vegetable assessment: performance of 2 new short instruments and a food frequency questionnaire. J Am Diet Assoc. 2002;102:1764–72.[CrossRef][Medline]

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