The documentation presented in this publication is intended to provide researchers and nutrition and food intervention planners with a set of guidelines for the adaptation, validation, application and statistical analysis of the "NOVA 27 UPF (ultra-processed food) categories tracker". This tracker serves to estimate the consumption of ultra-processed foods and beverages (UPF) and their caloric contribution in the diet in the 24 hours prior to the interview.
The tracker was designed and validated in Brazil. For its application in other population groups, it is essential to adapt and validate it. This adaptation and validation was developed in Quito, Ecuador, in a population aged 18 years and older, for which several instruments were prepared, which are the subject of this guide.
In this sense, a set of documents whose application ensures standardized procedures for the validation of the tracer in other population groups and other contexts, in the country and abroad, is being considered.
If it is decided to apply the tracer in other contexts, it is recommended, as a first step, to review and analyze the two instruments that were applied in the validation. The "NOVA 27 categories tracker" that was adapted in the country and 2. The "24-hour reminder" questionnaire that was used for the validation of the tracker. Reading and understanding them will help to put into context the guidelines presented below. Both instruments can be found in the annexes.