Development and Validation of a Novel Food Frequency Questionnaire for Assessment of Traditional Food Consumption Patterns in Ebonyi State, South East Nigeria

Food frequency questionnaires are the most commonly used dietary assessment tools in epidemiological nutrition research, yet validated instruments reflecting traditional food consumption patterns in South East Nigeria are largely absent from the literature. This study developed and validated a food frequency questionnaire specifically designed to capture traditional food consumption patterns in Ebonyi State. The questionnaire development process involved formative qualitative research through focus group discussions with forty community members and eight key informant interviews with food culture experts, followed by a food list compilation of 82 locally consumed items. Cognitive testing was conducted with twenty participants, and content validity was assessed by a panel of seven nutrition and food science experts. Relative validity was determined by comparing food frequency questionnaire-derived nutrient estimates against three days of 24-hour dietary recalls in 120 adults aged 18 to 65 years from two Local Government Areas. Reproducibility was assessed by re-administering the questionnaire at six weeks. Results showed excellent content validity (content validity index: 0.91). Spearman correlation coefficients for energy (0.62), protein (0.58), and vitamin C (0.54) were within acceptable validity ranges. Intraclass correlation coefficients for reproducibility ranged from 0.64 to 0.79 across key nutrients. Cross-classification analysis showed adequate ranking ability across nutrient quartiles. The validated questionnaire provides a culturally appropriate tool for epidemiological nutrition studies in Ebonyi State and South East Nigeria. Keywords: food frequency questionnaire, validation, dietary assessment, traditional foods, Ebonyi.