DHA Food Frequency Questionnaire

DHA Food Frequency Questionnaire

The following is a questionnaire that will estimate your daily omega-3 DHA intake. DHA is an omega-3 fatty acid mainly found in seafood, eggs and dietary supplements. Please answer the questions based upon your consumption of the following foods over the past 2 months. You will be shown a sliding scale bar to provide amounts. Answer each question as best you can and feel free to estimate if you are not sure, as a guess is better than leaving the answer blank. Please note that this questionnaire is for informational and educational purposes only and does not substitute professional medical advice or consultation with healthcare professionals. The data will not be shared with others.

How many 3oz. (~85g) servings of the following fish have you eaten in the past 2 months? A 3oz. (~85g) serving is the size of a deck of cards.

Bluefish
Blue fin tuna
Cisco-smoked
Herring
Mackerel
Pollock
Sardines
Salmon
Whitefish

How many 3oz. (~85g) servings of the following fish have you eaten in the past 2 months? A 3oz. (~85g) serving is the size of a deck of cards.

Bass
Calamari
Catfish
Drumfish
Flounder
Grouper
Halibut
Mussels
Perch
Redfish
Rockfish
Shark
Snapper
Sole
Squid
Trout
Tuna-canned
Whiting

How many 3oz. (~85g) servings of the following fish have you eaten in the past 2 months? A 3oz. (~85g) serving is the size of a deck of cards.

Carp
Clams
Cod
Crab
Crayfish
Eel
Fish patties
Fish sticks
Haddock
Lobster
Mullet
Oysters
Pike
Pompano
Scallops
Shrimp
Sturgeon

How many 3oz. (~85g) servings of liver did you eat in the past 2 months? A 3oz. (~85g) serving is the size of a deck of cards.

How many egg yolks did you eat EACH WEEK (including egg yolks used in cooking) in the past 2 months?

How many 3 oz. (~85g) servings of chicken, turkey, or other poultry (not including livers) did you eat EACH WEEK in the past 2 months? A 3oz. (~85g) serving is the size of a deck of cards.

Are you taking a dietary supplement with DHA (algal or fish oil)?

Amount of DHA in each capsule/serving (in mg)?

mg

How many days per week do you remember to take your supplement?

days

TOTAL DAILY DHA INTAKE:

Thank you for taking the survey. Your daily DHA intake is less than 200mg, which is below expert recommendations for the general population1. DHA is found in seafood, eggs, and dietary supplements (algal or fish oil).

 

1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition: Report of an Expert Consultation. FAO; Rome, Italy: 2010. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 91.
 

Thank you for taking the survey. Your estimated daily DHA intake is above 200mg, which appears to be adequate, as most experts recommend a minimum of 200mg DHA per day1.

 

1. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Fats and Fatty Acids in Human Nutrition: Report of an Expert Consultation. FAO; Rome, Italy: 2010. FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 91.

This 7-question food frequency questionnaire was developed by DSM Nutritional Products and adapted by Dr. Susan Carlson and her team of Nutrition Scientists at the University of Kansas. The questionnaire has been validated in pregnant women residing in the Midwest United States and is currently used as a screening tool early in pregnancy at the University of Kansas Medical Center to identify pregnant women at high risk of preterm birth due to low DHA intake.1,2

References

1. Crawford SA, et al. Validation of an abbreviated food frequency questionnaire for estimating DHA intake of pregnant women in the United States, Prostaglandins, Leukotrienes and Fatty Acids, 2022; 177:102398

2. Christifano DN, et al. (2023, Feb), Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) intake estimated from a 7-question survey identifies pregnancies most likely to benefit from high-dose DHA supplementation, Clinical Nutrition ESPEN, 2023; 53:93-99