To develop and internally validate a Free Sugars Screener (FSS) for Australian children aged 2 and 5 years.

Using data collected from a ninety-nine-item (2-year-olds) and ninety-eight-item (5-year-olds) FFQ in the Study of Mothers’ and Infants’ Life Events affecting oral health (SMILE-FFQ), a regression-based prediction modelling approach was employed to identify a subset of items that accurately estimate total free sugars intake (FSI). The predictors were grams of free sugars (FSg) for individual items in the SMILE-FFQ and child’s age and sex. The outcome variable was total FSI per person. To internally validate the SMILE-FSS items, the estimated FSg was converted to percent energy from free sugars (%EFS) for comparison to the WHO free sugars guideline categories (< 5 %, 5–< 10 % and ≥ 10 %EFS) using cross-classification analysis.

Australia.

858 and 652 2- and 5-year-old children, respectively, with complete dietary (< 5 % missing) and sociodemographic data.

Twenty-two and twenty-six items were important in predicting FSI at 2 and 5 years, respectively. Items were similar between ages with more discretionary beverage items (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages) at 5 years. %EFS was overestimated by 4·4 % and 2·6 %. Most children (75 % and 82 %) were categorised into the same WHO free sugars category with most (87 % and 95 %) correctly identified as having < 10 %EFS in line with the WHO recommendation.

The SMILE-FSS has good internal validity and can be used in research and practice to estimate young Australian children’s FSI and compare to the WHO free sugars guidelines to identify those ‘at risk’.

An urgent need in dietary assessment is the development of short tools that provide valid assessments of dietary quality for use in time-limited settings. The present study assessed concurrent and construct validity of the short Diet Quality Screener (sDQS) and brief Mediterranean Diet Screener (bMDSC) questionnaires.

Relative validity was measured by comparing three dietary quality indices – the Diet Quality Index (DQI), the modified Mediterranean Diet Score (mMDS) and the Antioxidant Score (ANTOX-S) – derived from the two questionnaires with those from multiple 24 h recalls over 12 months. Construct validity was demonstrated by correlations between average nutrient intake recorded on multiple 24 h recalls and the DQI, mMDS and ANTOX-S derived by the short screeners.

Both short questionnaires were administered to 102 participants recruited from a population-based survey in Spain.

DQI, mMDS and ANTOX-S correlated (P < 0·001) with the corresponding 24 h recall indices (r = 0·61, 0·40 and 0·45, respectively). Limits of agreement lay between 96 and 126 %, 59 and 144 % and 61 and 118 % for the DQI, ANTOX-S and mMDS, respectively. Dietary intakes of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin E, Mg and K reported on the 24 h recalls were positively associated (P < 0·04) with the DQI, mMDS and ANTOX-S indices.

The sDQS and bMDSC provide reasonable approximations to food-based dietary indices and accurately situate subjects within the indices constructed for the present validation study.