Dietary Assessment & Counseling Flashcards

Which dietary assessment tool is best suited for capturing habitual food intake over a long period rather than a single day?

Answer: Food frequency questionnaire (FFQ)

The food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) captures habitual intake patterns over weeks or months, making it ideal for assessing long-term dietary habits.

A client reports consuming large amounts of cruciferous vegetables daily. Which nutrient interaction is most important to explore in counseling?

Answer: Goitrogen effects on thyroid function

Cruciferous vegetables contain goitrogens that can inhibit thyroid hormone synthesis, especially relevant for clients with thyroid conditions.

When using motivational interviewing in nutrition counseling, the practitioner should primarily:

Answer: Explore and resolve the client's ambivalence about change

Motivational interviewing is a client-centered approach focused on exploring and resolving ambivalence to facilitate intrinsic motivation for change.

Which biomarker is most useful for assessing long-term glycemic control in a dietary counseling session for a pre-diabetic client?

Answer: Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c)

HbA1c reflects average blood glucose over the prior 2–3 months, providing a reliable indicator of long-term glycemic control.

A nutrition practitioner notices a client's diet is high in omega-6 fatty acids and low in omega-3s. The primary concern with this imbalance is:

Answer: Pro-inflammatory eicosanoid production

An excess of omega-6 relative to omega-3 fatty acids shifts eicosanoid production toward pro-inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandin E2.

Which anthropometric measurement is considered most predictive of cardiometabolic risk beyond BMI?

Answer: Waist circumference

Waist circumference is a stronger predictor of cardiometabolic risk than BMI because it reflects visceral adiposity, which drives insulin resistance and inflammation.

During a dietary recall, a client underreports food intake. Which population group is most likely to exhibit this pattern?

Answer: Overweight and obese individuals

Research consistently shows that overweight and obese individuals tend to underreport dietary intake, particularly energy-dense and socially undesirable foods.