Development and feasibility of a 24-hour recall software to characterize the Chilean diet

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.