Issues in the measurement of energy intake for free-living human populations

Abstract

Energy intake is the most difficult component of energy balance to measure. All known methods are subject to considerable error, both random error and bias. High variability within and between subjects means that sampling is important to increase reliability. Further, the fact that true intakes are unknown means that some outside measure of validity is desirable as a check on the accuracy of recording of habitual intake. This report examines food intake for populations where expenditure has been measured by doubly labeled water. For 21 populations where aggregate data have been reported, intake came within one megajoule (MJ) of expenditure in about one‐half of the cases. In seven populations where individual intake and expenditure were noted, reported intakes did not differ from measured expenditure for four groups, but differed significantly for two groups of African farm women and one group of obese volunteers. Individuals also differed in ranking of intake and expenditure, with intake able to predict the rank of expenditure only for one group of German students. Energy intake data are important for both ecological and epidemiological studies but are poor measures to use in estimating energy balance. © 1996 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.

Macronutrient energy intake and adiposity in non obese prepubertal children aged 5–11 y (the Fleurbaix Laventie Ville Santé Study)

“…32 We used the 24 h record, which seems an accurate method to quantify diet of young children, 31,33 and allows classi®cation of the data, which is required for epidemiologic studies. 34 The accuracy of the 24 h record to analyze relations between food intake and anthropometry remains questionable: a single 24-h record cannot take into account the dayto-day variation of food intake and overestimates the extremes of the distribution. 35 Seasonal differences 33 were partly avoided in FLVS, which took place in spring.…”

Health impacts of pedestrian head-loading: A review of the evidence with particular reference to women and children in sub-Saharan Africa

“…Individuals who may already be under-nourished might suffer negative energy balance if they carry heavy loads, a situation associated with a number of health problems including compromised physical and cognitive function (Kurpad et al, 2005), impaired immune function (Black et al, 2003) and, as we discuss below, impacts on reproduction. However, adequate assessment of energy balance is difficult to achieve because of both the well-documented difficulties of accurately 8 assessing energy intake (Huss-Ashmore, 1996), particularly in populations where food is typically eaten from a common bowl, and the energetic variability in 'real' load-carrying practices, which are intermittently combined with other highly energyintensive activities undertaken by African women. As a result, most studies (including those reported below) have been limited to energy expenditure only, under controlled treadmill conditions.…”

Modeling Body Mass Variation: Incorporating Social Influence into Calculations of Caloric Intake and Energy Expenditure

“…Mathematical models and their numerical solutions can be used to quantify changes in body mass and are therefore useful tools for studying body mass. Caloric intake and total energy expenditure are two of the most important and complex factors that should be quantified [16] , [17] . Our aim in the present study is to propose a set of formulas as a function of individual body mass and implement them to estimate how body mass varies over time.…”