Estimating energy intake of urban women in Colombia: Comparison of diet records and recalls

✍ Scribed by Dufour, Darna L.; Staten, Lisa K.; Waslien, Carol I.; Reina, Julio C.; Spurr, G.B.

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1999
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 102 KB
• Volume: 108
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0002-9483
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1096-8644(199901)108:1<53::aid-ajpa3>3.0.co;2-c

✦ Synopsis

As part of a larger study of energy-nutrition, we compared the performance of 24 h diet recalls with estimated diet records kept by trained observers. The subjects were economically disadvantaged women (n = 85) in the city of Cali, Colombia. A 24 h recall and an estimated diet record were collected for each woman at 0 and approximately 3 and 6 months. Energy intake obtained from the estimated dietary records was validated against energy expenditure and used as the reference method. Energy and macronutrient intake were calculated from published food composition tables and proximate analyses of common foods. The number of food items consumed per woman per day, total and in each of 16 food groups, was tabulated. Energy and macronutrient intakes were 11-13% lower in the 24 h recalls. The discrepancy energy could be largely accounted for by the lower number of food items in the recalls. The number of food items in eight of 16 food groups was significantly lower in the recalls compared to the records. Underreporting on the recalls was a general tendency in these subjects and not clearly related to average energy intake. We conclude that 24 h diet recalls underestimate energy and nutrient intake in this population and are not suitable for studies of human energetics.