Implications:The availability of an optically scannable valid instrument for assessing dietary intake will facilitate epidemiological studies of diet and disease, an area of current research priority.

The consumption of dairy products, soy beverages, and apples and pears, but not of nutrients per se, was associated with a range of asthma definitions. Dietary modification after diagnosis is one possible explanation for this finding. Intervention studies using whole foods are required to ascertain whether such modifications of food intake could be beneficial in the prevention or amelioration of asthma.