ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT

Barbara Livingstone

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Accurate assessments of dietary intake are a pre-requisite for assessing the relationships between diet and health. However, the quantification of errors in dietary data has remained largely undetected because of the absence of techniques to verify dietary survey methodology. Recent studies using doubly-labelled water estimates of total energy expenditure to validate self-reported energy intakes have demonstrated that the majority of these are systematically biased towards under-estimation of usual requirements. Bias is unlikely to be consistent in population studies. Subjects who report the highest energy intake tend to estimate their requirements more accurately than these who report low intakes. Mechanisms for cross-checking energy intake data against estimated energy requirements have been developed and provide limited guidance for checking the physiological plausibility of reported intakes, with special emphasis on under-reporting. In the absence of independent validation the evaluation of dietary survey data should be approached with caution.
LanguageEnglish
Pages58-67
JournalBritish Journal of Biomedical Science
Volume52
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Mar 1995

Fingerprint

Energy Intake
Eating
Energy Metabolism
Diet
Water
Health
Population
Surveys and Questionnaires

Cite this

Livingstone, Barbara. / ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT. 1995 ; Vol. 52, No. 1. pp. 58-67.
@article{c51eefd9d8624af8a65b8410d5aab9d4,
title = "ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT",
abstract = "Accurate assessments of dietary intake are a pre-requisite for assessing the relationships between diet and health. However, the quantification of errors in dietary data has remained largely undetected because of the absence of techniques to verify dietary survey methodology. Recent studies using doubly-labelled water estimates of total energy expenditure to validate self-reported energy intakes have demonstrated that the majority of these are systematically biased towards under-estimation of usual requirements. Bias is unlikely to be consistent in population studies. Subjects who report the highest energy intake tend to estimate their requirements more accurately than these who report low intakes. Mechanisms for cross-checking energy intake data against estimated energy requirements have been developed and provide limited guidance for checking the physiological plausibility of reported intakes, with special emphasis on under-reporting. In the absence of independent validation the evaluation of dietary survey data should be approached with caution.",
author = "Barbara Livingstone",
year = "1995",
month = "3",
language = "English",
volume = "52",
pages = "58--67",
number = "1",

}

Livingstone, B 1995, 'ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT', vol. 52, no. 1, pp. 58-67.

ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT. / Livingstone, Barbara.

Vol. 52, No. 1, 03.1995, p. 58-67.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article

TY - JOUR

T1 - ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT

AU - Livingstone, Barbara

PY - 1995/3

Y1 - 1995/3

N2 - Accurate assessments of dietary intake are a pre-requisite for assessing the relationships between diet and health. However, the quantification of errors in dietary data has remained largely undetected because of the absence of techniques to verify dietary survey methodology. Recent studies using doubly-labelled water estimates of total energy expenditure to validate self-reported energy intakes have demonstrated that the majority of these are systematically biased towards under-estimation of usual requirements. Bias is unlikely to be consistent in population studies. Subjects who report the highest energy intake tend to estimate their requirements more accurately than these who report low intakes. Mechanisms for cross-checking energy intake data against estimated energy requirements have been developed and provide limited guidance for checking the physiological plausibility of reported intakes, with special emphasis on under-reporting. In the absence of independent validation the evaluation of dietary survey data should be approached with caution.

AB - Accurate assessments of dietary intake are a pre-requisite for assessing the relationships between diet and health. However, the quantification of errors in dietary data has remained largely undetected because of the absence of techniques to verify dietary survey methodology. Recent studies using doubly-labelled water estimates of total energy expenditure to validate self-reported energy intakes have demonstrated that the majority of these are systematically biased towards under-estimation of usual requirements. Bias is unlikely to be consistent in population studies. Subjects who report the highest energy intake tend to estimate their requirements more accurately than these who report low intakes. Mechanisms for cross-checking energy intake data against estimated energy requirements have been developed and provide limited guidance for checking the physiological plausibility of reported intakes, with special emphasis on under-reporting. In the absence of independent validation the evaluation of dietary survey data should be approached with caution.

M3 - Article

VL - 52

SP - 58

EP - 67

IS - 1

ER -

Livingstone B. ASSESSMENT OF FOOD INTAKES - ARE WE MEASURING WHAT PEOPLE EAT. 1995 Mar;52(1):58-67.