Abstract

Dietary assessment is critical for tracking nutritional improvements, especially among vulnerable groups. However, the availability of local software to collect dietary information using a standardized approach is limited. We documented the development of the 24-hour recall software (SER-24H) designed to collect locally based information on dietary intake and food habits, and 2) the experience of its use. The SER-24H collects dietary intake information from participants in Chilean cohorts. The development of the SER-24H involved: 1) organizing the food and recipe database, 2) linking foods to nutrient content databases, and 3) converting to portion sizes. In addition, a pilot study was conducted with Chilean dietitians (n = 73) to explore their experience of using the SER-24H. The SER-24H contains > 7000 food items and > 1400 culturally based recipes. Benefits of using the SER-24H include the availability of locally relevant foods, estimation of food intake for each meal and nutrient sources. Dietitians found the SER-24H easy to use and useful. However, registering new foods was a challenge. Our work showed that developing locally based dietary intake software is feasible, but not without challenges. Given the current epidemic of diet-related chronic non-communicable diseases, the development of this type of data collection tool is imperative.