dietary assessment tools

Dietary assessment tools are methods used to evaluate what and how much people eat. They help researchers and healthcare providers understand nutritional habits, identify deficiencies, or plan interventions. Common tools include food diaries (tracking daily intake), food frequency questionnaires (how often certain foods are eaten), 24-hour recalls (describing everything consumed in a day), and dietary histories (detailed eating pattern interviews). These tools provide valuable information but can vary in accuracy due to memory, honesty, and reporting errors. They are essential for understanding diet quality and guiding nutrition-related decisions or policies.