Public Health Nutrition: 12(12), 2464 –2472 doi:10.1017/S1368980009005618 Assessing individual dietary intake from common-plate meals: a new tool for an enduring practice Kathleen Abu-Saad 1, *, Danit R Shahar 1 , Heiger Abu-Shareb 2 , Hillel Vardi 1 , Natalya Bilenko 1,3 and Drora Fraser 1 1 S. Daniel Abraham International Center for Health and Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, POB 653, Beer-Sheva 84105, Israel: 2 Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Evaluation, Faculty of Health Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, Israel: 3 Ministry of Health, Southern District, Beer-Sheva, Israel Submitted 4 September 2008: Accepted 8 February 2009: First published online 1 May 2009 Abstract Objective: The purposes of the present study were to estimate individual intake from common-plate meals among Bedouin Arabs using a modified 24 h recall questionnaire, and to evaluate reported energy intake (EI) by comparison with estimated energy requirement (EER). Design: Weighed records were used to develop a method of quantifying intake from common plates. Reported EI and nutrient intakes were obtained from administration of the modified 24 h recall. The relative standard error (RSE) was used to evaluate the reliability of reported nutrient intakes. The FAO/WHO/ United Nations University and Oxford equations and reported physical activity levels were used to compute ratios of reported EI to BMR and EER. Setting: Population centres of traditionally semi-nomadic Bedouin Arabs under- going sedentarization/urbanization in southern Israel. Subjects: A convenience sample of 451 adults (aged 19–82 years). Results: Mean (SE) energy intake was 9648 (276) kJ/d (2306 (66) kcal/d) for men and 8230 (172) kJ/d (1967 (41) kcal/d) for women, of which carbohydrates accounted for 63–64 %. The nutrient intakes evaluated had RSE ratios of less than 25 %. EI:EER ratios ranged from 0?86 to 0?89, and from 0?87 to 0?93 among non-dieters who ate the usual amount on the recall day. Conclusions: The modified 24 h recall produced plausible estimates of energy and nutrient intakes, comparable to those obtained with the 24 h recall in other populations. The modified questionnaire makes an important contribution to facilitating large-scale nutritional surveillance in the Bedouin population, and may serve as a model for modifying dietary instruments to quantify individual intake in other populations that practise common-plate eating. Keywords Dietary assessment 24 h recall Common-plate eating Bedouin Arabs Israel The Negev Bedouin Arabs in southern Israel, a tradi- tionally semi-nomadic population, historically ate their meals from common plates. Despite the processes of sedentarization, modernization and urbanization that have occurred in this population over the past 50 years, common-plate eating remains an enduring practice. Dietary surveillance among Negev Bedouin Arabs has been hampered by the lack of an appropriate dietary assessment instrument for quantifying intake at the indi- vidual level (1) , thus current comprehensive nutrient intake data for this population are lacking. Common-plate eating occurs in many parts of the world, but little work has been done to develop dietary assessment methods for quantitatively measuring individual food intake that are practical for use in epidemiological studies (2–4) . The 24 h recall questionnaire is the main tool for dietary surveillance and monitoring dietary intake over time (5,6) . It is based on identifying foods eaten and their portion sizes served and eaten individually in a 24 h period preceding the interview. The traditional 24 h recall is not designed to measure food intake in societies in which common-plate eating is practised. During recent decades, chronic disease rates among the Bedouin have been on the increase (7–10) , as they have in many of the populations that practise common-plate eating (11,12) . Thus, the development of appropriate diet- ary assessment instruments that are practical for use in large-scale dietary surveillance has become increasingly important. To the best of our knowledge, no dietary assessment tool has ever been adapted and/or used for *Corresponding author: Email kathline@bgu.ac.il r The Authors 2009