The Roma minority is one of Europe’s most vulnerable minorities in terms of health
status including nutrition-related diseases. A detailed and robust exploration of
the dietary behaviors of the Roma population is essential for developing targeted
nutrition interventions. This scoping review aims to identify and evaluate the dietary
assessment methods used for measuring dietary intake and food consumption among the
Roma population. Studies were identified through PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, and
grey literature. Studies written in English that focused on the Roma minority and
assessed dietary intake and food consumption were eligible. A qualitative approach
was used to summarize the results. Thirteen original studies were reviewed, primarily
conducted in Eastern Europe. Nine out of thirteen studies used cross-sectional study
designs and quantitative research approaches. The most commonly applied nutritional
assessment methods were food frequency questionnaire, 24-h dietary recall, and brief
dietary habits questionnaire. Quantitative dietary outcomes were measured through
dietary intake, food consumption patterns, and dietary quality, while qualitative
dietary outcomes were identified as moderate overconsumption, irregular eating, or
the symbolic use of food to denote social status. There was a lack of validity and
adaptation of dietary assessment tools for the Roma population. The reviewed studies
often did not employ advanced nutritional analysis methods common in the general,
non-Roma population. There is a need to develop specific dietary assessment methods
for the Roma population. To obtain more reliable results, combining subjective dietary
assessment methods with a qualitative, participatory approach may be suitable for
this population.
