Foods that we eat and their relationship to health

Features & Benefits

Defined by its depth

  • Candat is a full featured system for food intake research. Candat is completely rigorous and has been used and referenced in scientific journals.
  • All the features listed here are included in Candat, no need to purchase separate modules.
  • The modules and tasks in Candat can also form the basis for a complete course on how to do food intake analysis.
  • Candat has innovations not found in other systems, for instance the concept of week-weighted averages where weekend days and work days can be considered differently in reporting daily averages. Candat also supports user-defined meals (up to 999) to allow the precise definition of when a food was eaten. Of course, all this data can be exported to a spreadsheet program or a statistical analysis package.
  • Of course, Candat can also be used for any individual or clinical patient or client nutrient profile. Only a subset of its capabilities would be used. Its depth can also be used here to give more detailed analysis of a clients record, for instance, nutrient intakes could be reported by food groups or by user defined meals.
  • Candat is so complete that only rarely do users need features that are not already included.
  • No other software has its depth for satisfying the requirements of scientific research.

Features

Benefits

  1. Food files maintenance and listings
    • 100 Food file maintenance
      • CREATE/EDIT a food file
      • LIST the codes and names of foods in a food file
      • ANALYZE a food file for nutrient distributions
    • 110 Food file listing – Nutrients & ratios
    • 120 Food file listing – Other data
      • Source of food
      • Conversion factors
      • All components
        1. SINGLE Food file listing
        2. COMBINED Food file listing
      • User Food file
      • Institute Food file
      • Master Food file
      • User/Institute/Master Food files
      • Institute/Master Food files

This is key…

  • Nutrient data on foods is the basis for all calculations. The source of that data is crucial. In science we talk of validity and reliability. You can only be sure of valid data by considering its source. The USA and Canadian governments have spent millions of dollars to ensure the validity of their food data.
  • Large databases that mix supplier data with standard data bring an element of risk to its validity. Some suppliers use government data as their own or, even worse, use approximations. Reliability is the ability to replicate a study. Difficult to do if you do not know how the original study’s food data was selected.
  • To ensure validity and reliability Candat:
    • uses standard government issued food databases;
    • provides extensive features to manage food data;
    • provides a tiered (master, institute, user) food file structure so that any food changed or added can be fully documented;
    • master (standard) food files can be swapped in and out as their data only changes with new releases;
    • provides lists which can serve as the basis for coding manuals so that coding among data entry personnel can be consistent
  1. Table and category definition
    • 200 Nutrient table maintenance
      • LIST GLOBAL nutrient table
      • EDIT STANDARD nutrients for listings and reports
      • LIST STANDARD nutrients for listings and reports
      • EDIT ADDITIONAL options for reports
      • EDIT GLOBAL nutrient table
      • LIST ADDITIONAL options for reports
    • 220 R.N.I. & R.D.I. definitions maintenance
      • R.N.I. Individual classification table
      • R.N.I. Classification vs. nutrient table
      • R.N.I. Lactation adjustments table
      • R.N.I. Pregnancy adjustments table
      • R.D.I. Ratings table
      • R.D.I. Amounts table
    • 210 Food group definitions maintenance

Along with food databases, nutrient information is paramount. Candat allows you to configure the information for each nutrient:

  • its long and short descriptions
  • the number of decimal points expressed in reports
  • nutrients can be added at will

An advantage of this is the addition of a nutrient representing number of portions per 100g. Using this field in your reports allows the calculation of number of portions consumed per food group. Very useful for automatically calculating Food Guide servings in your analysis.

Candat handles food groups very well. Along with the standard food groups (read government) Candat allows the definition of sets of food groups. A set of food groups is contained in a category file and food groups are defined as collections of individual food codes or ranges of food codes.

Once defined, category files can be used to add extra dimensions to reports and listings. You can really allow your imagination free rein in the way you look at results and create these extra food group variables.

Some reports use recommended and required nutrient levels to compare to individual subject results or to validate input data (outliers). Candat comes with a set of values but also allows you to set your own, on a per
nutrient basis, with:

  • expected value
  • low value
  • high value
  1. Subject files maintenance and reports
  • 300 Subject file maintenance
    • ADD/EDIT subjects
    • Find food code in Subject intake and edit that day
    • CHANGE subject codes
    • DELETE subjects from file
    • CHANGE subject description labels
    • Change meal codes and descriptions
    • Save meals codes table to OBJS.SF
    • Retrieve meals codes table from OBJS.SF
    • LIST subject summary data
    • LIST subject summary data and diversity
    • LIST subject codes and data (multiple files)
    • CREATE a table of unique food codes in file
    • COPY subjects to another subject file
    • Set Questionnaire mode flag
  • 310 Subject file validation
  • 330 Primary analysis for nutrient reports
  • 336 Primary analysis range error checking
  • 340 Secondary analysis – reports
    • —REPORT LEVELS TO BE INCLUDED—
    • ALL Selected SUBJECTS.
    • B DAYS in a given SUBJECT.
    • C MEALS in a given DAY, SUBJECT.
    • D FOODS in a given DAY, SUBJECT.
    • E FOODS in a given MEAL, DAY, SUBJECT
    • —REPORT OPTIONS—
    • F PRINT DESCRIPTIVE INFORMATION of each subject.
    • G SEND FOOD TOTALS to save file.
    • H SORT REPORTS by concentration of user-specified nutrient
    • I INCLUDE DAY-OF-WEEK-WEIGHTED AVERAGES in “B” report.
    • J SEND DAY-OF-WEEK-WEIGHTED AVERAGES to save file.
    • K FOOD GROUP breakdowns to be included in reports.
    • L SUPPRESS SUBTOTAL LINES with no group information.
    • M SEND Food detail to save file…
  • 350 R.N.I. – reports

This is where Candat shines

You can really organize your data entry. Candat supports unlimited subject files (a subject file can hold unlimited subject records).You can have independent coders enter data for large studies and combine them at the end.

Each subject record can hold:

  • up to 7 days of data
  • up to 999 meals (user defined meals, you can really let your imagination go here)

Candat makes it easy for you to manage subject data. From simple lists to changing codes to merging files, the computer does it all. You have real control and confidence in your data, in your study.

You no longer have to scan your data to find problems. Candat does it for you and highlights the problem areas. Even errors of coding causing outliers can be caught and corrected easily.

Once your data is pure the primary analysis generates the nutrient data associated with each food in each meal in each day for each subject. This step can be done multiple times for any number of nutrients. You may wish to run your data with a small set of nutrients
just to ensure that everything is ok and then run it will all nutrients confidently. This is both efficient and accurate.

Reports produced by Candat can be printed and/or sent to files. It does not take too many calculations to realize that printed reports could run hundreds of pages. Nor are these printed reports necessary. You can send them
to files and view them from there to make sure the data is as expected.

Each report also produces a data file. This is a file that is self documenting and that can be imported, as-is, into spreadsheet programs or statistical analyses programs. No need for a separate export program.

At this stage the data phase of your study is almost done. Candat has generated the nutrient variables and you only need to relate them to other parameters. No hand data entry is required, you can be confident that the calculated data has maintained its integrity throughout.

The many types of report produced by Candat allow you to see the data in many ways without a need for external processes.

You pick the data you want to see, summarized the way you want it and then you choose how you want to see it.
Only Candat provides:

  • week-weighted averages (to truly represent average daily intake)
  • day of week code
  • group code

along with all the nutrient related data. Only when you are ready with the data, summarized as you want it, do you need to send it an external system such as a statistical package or a spreadsheet program. Everything you have done so far has followed a well structured path to very clean data.

R.N.I reports are not part of the research stream but use the same data. As feedback to your subjects you may wish to give them a nutrient profile of their intake. With no additional data entry this report can be directed to a file, made to your specifications in word processing and handed to the subject… good public relations.

  1. Recipe files maintenance and reports
  • 400 Recipe file maintenance
    • ADD/EDIT recipes
    • CHANGE codes of recipes
    • COPY a recipe to another file
    • DELETE recipes
    • COPY a recipe into another recipe
    • LIST code and description of recipes (summary)
    • LIST contents of recipes (verify)
  • 410 Recipe file validation
  • 420 Recipe nutrient calculations
  • 430 Recipe to food file conversion
  • 100 Food file maintenance
  • 440 Recipe reports by types

Recipes follow the same type of input stream as subjects. They have the same flexibility of management. They are necessary to allow your coders to deal with foods that are not in the database and may be a bit esoteric.

Candat supports unlimited numbers of recipe files with unlimited recipe records per file. This allows you to create project-specific recipes.

Recipes can be converted to foods (either institute or user food file) and used in subject data entry. In this way recipes support the food intake process and provide documentation for those esoteric foods being considered in your study.

Independently of being a source of foods for Candat processing, the recipe module stands by itself. The writer of a cookbook can use this module to classify recipes and provide nutrient profiles, with nutrient ratings, for each recipe.

  1. Questionnaire definition and input
  • 550 Short questionnaires – Definition
    • EDIT questionnaire items
    • COPY questionnaire items
    • CHANGE questionnaire item numbers
    • DELETE questionnaire items
    • VALIDATE questionnaire
    • LIST questionnaire
    • EDIT questionnaire response layout
    • LIST questionnaire response sheets (title too)
    • GENERATE questionnaire response screens
    • CREATE a food table from Questionnaire foods
  • 560 Short questionnaires – Input
  • 310 Subject file validation
  • 330 Primary analysis for nutrient reports
  • 336 Primary analysis range error checking
  • 340 Secondary analysis – reports

Food history questionnaires are another story. They are almost a whole system onto themselves. How do you define a questionnaire and why?

This module works hand-in-hand with the subject module. To find out what questions to put in a questionnaire one could do a short daily recall study, look at the foods eaten by food groups and create a few questions per food group to represent the way that population eats.

Candat produces reports which show the amount of each food eaten in each food group. Those foods can be used as ingredients in a recipe using relative quantities from the report and thus form a composite food. This food then would represent the nutrient profile of the question on the questionnaire. How accurate and
representative can you get! We know of 2 studies that have created food history questionnaires on that basis using Candat.

Would you do this by hand? How many lifetimes have you got?

One study created questionnaires with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) forms that used form scanning for data entry. With the addition of a small customized function Candat was able to automatically import and process these files too.

We work with you to bring efficiency and success to your research.

  1. General file utilities
  • 900 User file management

Candat creates many files in its user area. This module allows the user to manage those files without having to find them using another program such as windows explorer.

  1. Utilities Options
  • MAINTAIN objects in user file
  • SET the screen attributes
  • SET the message time delay
  • SET the screen save time
  • SET “TYPE AHEAD” mode
  • SET the sound attributes
  • SET the year or version of the Master Food File
  • SET the language of the Master Food File
  • SELECT printer type and paper size
  • SETUP or CHANGE the user password
  • SETUP or CHANGE the application password
  • SETUP or CHANGE the manager password
  • Register keyword for permanent use of CANDAT

Candat has a lot of flexibility allowing each user to create a comfortable working environment.

Users can even control the colours of various parts of their screen to ensure maximum visibility. Candat can be configured to allow colour-blind individuals to work with it using their colour parameters.

Candat takes care of the details so that you do not have to find an alternative way to work.

  1. Note Options
  • SCAN .TXT files
  • SCAN save files
  • Food Profile
  • EXECUTE an APL statement
  • SHOW notes
  • ADD a note

This is the “F5” key area. From anywhere in Candat if you press the “F5” key you get this menu.

This allows the user to immediately view reports sent to files or data sent to files. The food profile option allows users to search for foods and view their nutrient profiles, again, from anywhere.

Sometimes (very rarely) computer statements can be entered directly as well. These statements are usually received from technical support. Once entered they become part of the user’s history on Candat and, if necessary, become part of the regular working environment.


Candat is here to meet your immediate and your future requirements.