In a recent study published in the journal Nutrients, researchers from Europe designed and developed the VEGANScreener, a new tool to examine diet quality among vegans in the region. The tool includes 29 questions that focus on foods and nutrients to promote or limit, with potential post-validation applications in self-assessment and health care settings.
Study: Development of the VEGANScreener, a tool for a rapid assessment of diet quality among Vegans in Europe. Image credit: j.chizhe / Shutterstock
Record
The popularity of veganism is on the rise in Europe, driven by various motivations such as animal welfare, health and environmental sustainability. Despite the health benefits associated with vegan diets, such as reduced risks of certain diseases and improved weight management, they can also pose nutritional challenges due to possible deficiencies in vital nutrients such as vitamins B12 and D and minerals such as calcium and iron. iron.
Diet quality assesses the impact of dietary patterns on health, including the adequacy, balance, moderation, and variety of healthy foods. Diet screenings are short tools that assess the total diet or specific components and rank individuals based on frequency of intake without calculating absolute nutrient levels.
In the present study, the researchers designed and developed the VEGANScreener, a tool to assess the diet quality of vegans in Europe. They described the methodology, including input from international experts and the selection of relevant nutritional ingredients. The tool aimed to assist both vegans and health care providers in assessing diet quality, setting dietary goals, and tracking dietary patterns over time, potentially addressing concerns about nutritional adequacy in the vegan population.
About the study
The VEGANScreener was developed in three stages: literature review, expert review, and translation into a measurement tool for diet quality. Best practices in scale development and a modified Delphi technique were used, including item pooling, expert feedback, and a final consensus meeting. This iterative process effectively integrated diet quality measures with scale development methods, ensuring a systematic capture of diet quality among European vegans.
The process involved 29 experts who evaluated the proposed items based on their association with health outcomes, frequency of consumption and inter-individual variation. Items with less than 60% agreement were discarded or modified. This resulted in a group of items ranked by importance in five food quality domains. In two rounds of comments, experts evaluated items for inclusion, exclusion, or modifications. Those with at least 60% agreement were retained and remaining concerns were discussed in an online meeting. This quasi-anonymous process ensured unbiased assessment and consensus among experts.
The tool was translated into Czech, Dutch, German and Spanish according to ISPOR guidelines for accuracy. Pretesting included small samples of vegans, vegetarians, and omnivores to ensure clarity and ease of completion. Iterative revisions were made based on qualitative feedback until all local versions matched the English master version. The translated versions were then deployed online.
Results and discussion
The core team selected 38 articles from a pool of over 100 extracted during the literature review for expert voting. In Round 1, 27 items received 60% agreement or greater, while 11 were rejected. Comments were reviewed to refine retained items and possibly restructure discarded items. For round 2, 35 updated items were proposed, with 28 receiving ≥60% agreement from 19 participating experts. One topic, with the same agreement for both versions, was further discussed in the online consensus meeting. The meeting, attended by 15 experts, resolved the remaining issues and finalized the draft screener, which includes 29 questions and one sub-question.
Experts provided qualitative feedback between rounds, leading to reformulation, merging and separation of elements. For example, the item on vegetable intake was refined based on expert suggestions for specificity and simplicity, resulting in separate questions about “other vegetables,” “green vegetables,” and “dark orange and red fruits and vegetables.” .
The development of this tool faced challenges in categorizing new vegan products and formulating simple questions due to data gaps and variability in product composition. However, respondents found the VEGANScreener easy to use, with adjustments based on food categorization and feedback on question clarity. The final instrument included 17 questions focused on promoting intake of food groups and nutrients, as well as 12 (plus one subquestion) on limiting intake, including 24 food-based questions and five nutrient/supplement-based questions.
conclusion
In conclusion, after collaborative development and expert evaluation, the VEGANScreener, tailored for European vegans, is ready for validation with reference methods and biomarkers. By offering a systematic approach to vegan diet assessment, VEGANScreener has the potential to enhance nutritional awareness and support for the growing vegan population, ultimately promoting better health outcomes in this demographic. Future steps include evaluating its performance in different populations and settings, taking into account factors such as gender, age and ethnicity. Evaluation among both vegans and health professionals will help gauge its validity and acceptability. If successful, the VEGANScreener could serve as a simple tool for self-assessment and improvement of diet quality among European vegans, with potential for adaptation to other regions.
