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Managing Outliers in Adolescent Food Frequency Questionnaire Data.

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OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to explore the impact of 5 decision rules for removing outliers from adolescent food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data. DESIGN This secondary analysis used… Click to show full abstract

OBJECTIVE The goal of this study was to explore the impact of 5 decision rules for removing outliers from adolescent food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) data. DESIGN This secondary analysis used baseline and 3-month data from a weight loss intervention clinical trial. PARTICIPANTS African American adolescents (n = 181) were recruited from outpatient clinics and community health fairs. VARIABLES MEASURED Data collected included self-reported FFQ and mediators of weight (food addiction, depressive symptoms, and relative reinforcing value of food), caregiver-reported executive functioning, and objectively measured weight status (percentage overweight). ANALYSIS Descriptive statistics examined patterns in study variables at baseline and follow-up. Correlational analyses explored the relationships between FFQ data and key study variables at baseline and follow-up. RESULTS Compared with not removing outliers, using decision rules reduced the number of cases and restricted the range of data. The magnitude of baseline FFQ-mediator relationships was attenuated under all decision rules but varied (increasing, decreasing, and reversing direction) at follow-up. Decision rule use increased the magnitude of change in FFQ estimated energy intake and significantly strengthened its relationship with weight change under 2 fixed range decision rules. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS Results suggest careful evaluation of outliers and testing and reporting the effects of different outlier decision rules through sensitivity analyses.

Keywords: decision; decision rules; outliers adolescent; adolescent food; food; food frequency

Journal Title: Journal of nutrition education and behavior
Year Published: 2020

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