Improving Diet and Physical Activity Assessment (R01) | Apply Online

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the title and identifier of this NIH funding opportunity?

The funding opportunity is titled "Improving Diet and Physical Activity Assessment (R01)" and is identified as PAR-07-259.

What is the main purpose of this FOA?

This FOA supports research to make diet and physical activity measurement more accurate and more useful for public health surveillance as well as for epidemiologic and clinical studies.

What core problem is the FOA trying to address?

Many studies rely heavily on self-report tools to estimate usual dietary intake and physical activity, often requiring participants to recall past behavior over different time windows. These approaches can be mentally demanding and routinely produce substantial measurement error.

Why is measurement error in self-reported diet and physical activity a major concern?

The FOA emphasizes that errors in self-report are often not random. They may differ across subgroups (for example, by age, culture, or other respondent characteristics) and may vary depending on the recall period and the type of behavior being reported. This can bias research results and weaken conclusions drawn from the data.

What kinds of research does the FOA encourage?

The FOA encourages innovative projects that either (1) create new assessment approaches or (2) strengthen how existing instruments are evaluated and improved. It highlights both tool development and improvements in validation and error characterization.

Does the FOA focus only on creating new instruments?

No. A major theme is also improving the science of validation and error characterization. This includes research that quantifies, models, or corrects for measurement error and bias so that diet and physical activity data can be interpreted more accurately.

What are examples of the types of projects NIH is looking for under this FOA?

Examples described include developing novel tools for measuring dietary intake and physical activity, adapting assessment methods to perform better in culturally diverse populations and across the lifespan (explicitly including older adults), and leveraging improved technologies or new applications of existing technologies to capture behavior more objectively or with less participant burden.

How does the FOA address cultural diversity and differences across age groups?

The FOA explicitly encourages advancing or adapting assessment methods so they perform better in culturally diverse populations and across the lifespan, including older adults. It also notes that measurement error may differ across subgroups such as by age or culture.

Does this FOA support technology-based measurement approaches?

Yes. The FOA encourages leveraging improved technologies or new applications of existing technologies to capture diet and physical activity behavior more objectively or with less burden on participants.

What does the FOA say about combining self-report with objective measures?

The FOA describes approaches where researchers may combine self-report with objective measures and refine calibration methods or modeling approaches to interpret self-reported diet and activity data more accurately.

What is the grant mechanism used for this opportunity?

This opportunity uses the NIH R01 research project grant mechanism, which is intended for more mature, well-developed, and typically hypothesis-driven research programs.

How is an R01 different from the related R21 mentioned in the announcement?

The announcement notes it runs in parallel with a separate FOA of the same scientific scope that uses the R21 exploratory/developmental mechanism (PAR-06-103). The R21 is typically more suitable for preliminary, early-stage, or higher-risk exploratory ideas, while the R01 is positioned for projects that can deliver substantial, well-supported advances.

Which NIH institutes and offices participate in this FOA?

Participating components include the National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI), National Institute on Aging (NIA), Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), and the NIH Office of the Director Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS).

Why are multiple NIH components involved?

The FOA frames diet and physical activity measurement as cross-cutting and relevant to many diseases and populations. The range of participating institutes signals that strong applications may be applicable to many health outcomes and research settings, including chronic disease prevention, mental health, and aging.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligibility is broad. The FOA allows applications from many types of U.S. organizations, including public and private institutions of higher education, nonprofits (including those with and without 501(c)(3) status), for-profit organizations (including small businesses and other for-profits), state and local governments, independent school districts, public housing authorities/Indian housing authorities, and tribal governments or organizations.

Are foreign institutions eligible to apply?

Yes. The FOA explicitly states that foreign institutions may apply.

Can federal agencies apply?

Yes. The FOA states that eligible federal agencies may apply.

Are faith-based or community-based organizations eligible?

Yes. The FOA explicitly states that faith-based or community-based organizations are eligible.

Is cost sharing or matching required?

No cost sharing or matching requirement is listed in the provided information.

Are there specific deadlines for application submission?

The solicitation used multiple receipt dates rather than a single deadline. Specific receipt dates are referenced in the full announcement.

When was this FOA posted, and is it still active?

The opportunity was originally posted on December 21, 2006, and later archived on June 1, 2009. Based on that, it should be treated as a historical funding announcement unless a current reissued version exists.

What public health and research areas are expected to benefit from this work?

The FOA highlights that diet and physical activity are central to understanding and preventing chronic diseases such as cancer and coronary heart disease, as well as obesity prevention and long-term weight maintenance. Improving assessment is framed as high-impact because it strengthens the evidence base linking these behaviors to health outcomes.

What kinds of study contexts does the FOA mention?

The FOA points to improving measures for public health surveillance and for epidemiologic and clinical studies.

What does the FOA say about recall periods and reporting windows?

It notes that many self-report tools require recalling past behavior over different time windows, and that measurement error can vary depending on the recall period and the type of behavior being reported.

What is the overarching goal of the funded research?

The FOA aims to move the field beyond error-prone self-report as the default for diet and physical activity research by funding rigorous, innovative measurement research (including technology-enabled tools and statistical methods) that yields stronger, less biased data.