Adaptation of an online dietary assessment tool for Türkiye: Development of the Turkish version of myfood24

Evidence-based nutrition policies designed to enhance the nutrition-related health of the population depend on accurate data collected through dietary assessments at both individual and community levels (1) . There is a need for a comprehensive food composition database specific to the Turkish population, including cultural dishes, to accurately assess nutrient intake, formulate dietary guidelines, and support nutrition research. myfood24 is a rapid, user-friendly online dietary assessment tool utilised within research, teaching, and healthcare contexts (2) . The myfood24 system has previously been adapted into various languages through modifications to food databases, functionality, and interface layout; however, no Turkish adaptation currently exists. This study aims to develop a Turkish- adapted version of myfood24, a fully automated and web-based dietary assessment tool using the 24-hour dietary recall method. Food composition information was compiled from multiple sources (3-7) , including existing food composition tables, relevant research articles, and nutrient labels obtained from packaged food products. The adaptation process for the Turkish version of myfood24 involved several clearly defined steps: identification of food items, data cleaning, translation, assigning portion sizes, and quality checks. Finally, the database was completed in Access software in line with the established myfood24 guidelines. The resulting dataset contained a total of 2,701 food items along with 110 nutrient components. These food items were systematically organised into 38 main categories and further divided into 93 subcategories. Energy and macronutrient content for a standard serving size of selected traditional Turkish dishes were determined as follows: ‘Lentil soup’ contained 3.9 g protein, 1.7 g fat, 8.8 g carbohydrate, and 64 kcal energy; ‘Lahmacun’ provided 10 g protein, 10.3 g fat, 25.2 g carbohydrate, and 228 kcal; ‘Menemen’ included 10.3 g protein, 13.2 g fat, 1.5 g carbohydrate, and 165 kcal; ‘Shish kebab’ had 13.6 g protein, 1.1 g fat, 15.4 g carbohydrate, and 149 kcal; and ‘Baklava’ provided 6.7 g protein, 25.1 g fat, 54.1g carbohydrate, and 456 kcal energy. In conclusion, the Turkish version of myfood24 represents the first comprehensive online dietary assessment tool specifically designed for Turkish-speaking populations, including culturally relevant dishes, facilitating nutritional epidemiology research and enabling cross- country dietary comparisons.