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School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, Macdonald Campus of McGill University, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC H9X 3V9, Canada
2To whom correspondence should be addressed.
| ABSTRACT |
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KEY WORDS: total energy expenditure energy intake doubly-labeled water dietary assessment humans
| INTRODUCTION |
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The DLW technique is ideal for assessing energy expenditure because it is nonradioactive and noninvasive; thus, subjects can carry out their daily activities without being aware that they are being studied. In weight-stable individuals, energy expenditure must equal energy intake. This equilibrium provides a means of validating methods of assessing food intake. The purpose of the current study was to compare the energy intakes estimated from 4 d multimedia diet records (MMDR) using self-reported intakes with measured energy expenditures using DLW. A population sample of middle-aged and elderly Canadian women was used in this study. To facilitate the recording of food intake, a novel multimedia dietary assessment method was developed utilizing a tape recorder and camera in an attempt to more accurately quantify energy intake and improve upon traditional methods. It was expected that the MMDR would reduce subject burden and thus reduce the frequency of omission of food items from the MMDR, therefore, increasing the agreement between reported energy intake and measured expenditure in weight-stable individuals.
| MATERIALS AND METHODS |
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The novel method of dietary intake assessment was developed by
combining the use of a microcassette tape recorder and 35-mm camera. In
an effort to ensure accurate and complete food records, the subjects
were provided a training session prior to the study commencement.
Subjects were supplied with standard household measurements, a ruler, a
35-mm camera and a microcassette tape recorder to measure and record
all foods and beverages consumed and leftover for 4 d. Food habits
differ on weekends and weekdays (Beaton 1994
).
Considering these day-to-day variations, the subjects were assigned a
Wednesday-Saturday or Sunday-Wednesday recording period.
Subjects recorded their intake from morning to bedtime on d 47 or
711 of the study period. Copies of recipes for homemade meals and
labels from ready-to-eat preparations were requested, as well as
specifications regarding the method of preparation and cooking.
Subjects were asked not to alter their dietary patterns during the
study period so that the MMDR would be typical of their usual dietary
habits. Subjects who did not maintain a record for 4 d were
excluded from the study. Food records were analyzed using Food
Processor 5.0, ESHA (Portland, OR). When transposing taped records into
written records, pictures were used for cross-referencing dietary
intake reports to determine if foods in taped records and photographs
corresponded, but were not used for quantification of energy intake.
To calculate total energy expenditure (TEE), a two-point DLW method was used. Baseline urine and saliva samples were collected and a dose of DLW was administered based on estimated body water (body weight x 50%) to the fasted subjects. The dose of 2.5 g H218O/kg [10% atom percentage excess (APE)] and 0.12 g D2O/kg (99.9% APE) estimated body water was followed by a 50-mL rinse of fruit juice and a muffin. Subjects were asked to abstain from food and minimize water intake for 4 h and to collect a saliva sample for determination of body water at 3 and 4 h postdose. Subjects were given urine sample bottles to collect a second void sample at 24 h. On d 7, the women visited the study location and gave a second void urine sample and brought in the frozen samples previously collected. On d 14, fasting subjects returned to the study location and gave another second void urine sample and a saliva sample. A 200 g/L solution of D2O (0.12 g/kg estimated body water) in tap water was taken orally and rinsed with 50 mL fruit juice. A muffin was again provided to break the fast. At 3 and 4 h postdose, subjects were instructed to provide saliva samples for a second estimate of body water. All collected samples were stored in parafilm-wrapped plastic containers and stored at -20°C.
Body composition was calculated using total body water (TBW) and weight
on d 0 and 14 using isotope dilution of D2O and
H218O on d 0 and
D2O on d 14. TBW was calculated using the
enrichment of saliva samples taken at 3 and 4 h postdose based on
the assumption that fat-free mass (FFM) is 73.2% hydrated.
(Pace and Rathburn 1945
). Fat mass was calculated as the
difference between body weight and FFM.
The isotopic analysis was conducted using standard vacuum techniques as
previously described by Jones et al. (1988)
. Urine and saliva samples
containing D2O were measured in duplicate or
triplicate using a 903D dual-inlet isotope ratio mass spectrometer
(IRMS), (VG Isogas, Cheshire, England). For
H218O enrichment determination, 1.5-mL
physiological samples of urine or saliva were added to Vacutainer
tubes. Urine samples were analyzed for
C18O2 in three or four
replicates as required using a SIRA 12 IRMS (VG Isogas). Carbon dioxide
production was calculated using the equation:
![]() | (1) |
The rate of CO2 production is represented by R, TBW is determined based on d 1 or 14 (kg). The elimination rates of H218O and D2O are designated by ko and kh, respectively. A standard respiratory quotient of 0.85 was used for all subjects to prevent bias due to inaccuracies in food recording.
Data are presented as means ± SD To compare anthropometric variables, TEE, and reporting accuracy with age, women were stratified into 4959, 6069, 7079 and 80 + y age groups. Reporting accuracy was expressed as mean reported intake by MMDR in MJ/d divided by mean TEE/day x 100. Data were analyzed with the Student-Newman-Keuls test, and differences among age groups were considered significant when P < 0.05. The SAS statistical package was used (SAS Institute, Cary, NC).
| RESULTS |
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Energy expenditure (MJ/d) as determined by DLW was significantly higher
(P < 0.01) in each stratified age range when compared
to reported energy intake by MMDR (Fig. 1
). Women in the 5059 y age range reported 8.2 ± 2.1 MJ/d (1954 ± 491 kcal/d); however, TEE was 11.5 ± 3.1
MJ/d (2759 ± 751 kcal/d), representing a reporting accuracy of
74.4 ± 22.7%. In the 6069 y age group, reported intake was 7.7
± 1.3 MJ/d (1780 ± 383 kcal/d) while TEE was determined to
be 10.6 ± 3.0 MJ/d (2543 ± 712 kcal/d), which calculated to
a reporting accuracy of 75.2 ± 17.4%. In the 7079 y age group,
reported intake was 7.2 ± 2.3 MJ/d (1724 ± 554 kcal/d)
contrasting the TEE of 9.6 ± 2.8 MJ/d (2287 ± 677 kcal/d);
reporting accuracy was 80.3 ± 33.3%. There were significantly
reduced reported intakes and TEE in the 80 y + age group compared
to the younger age groups, 5.5 ± 0.5 MJ/d (1313 ± 118
kcal/d) and 7.6 ± 1.7 MJ/d (1820 ± 417 kcal/d),
respectively (P < 0.05), although these differences
were not due to reporting accuracy (74.6 ± 15.2%), but more
likely to reduced energy requirements. There were no differences in
anthropometric measures across stratified age groups in body mass index
(BMI) (23.525.2 kg/m2) or body weight
(57.768.0 kg), although body fat percentage was significantly lower
in the 6069 y age group (21.2 ± 9.7%) compared to the group
mean of (27.8 ± 11.1%), (P < 0.05).
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| DISCUSSION |
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Measures of energy intake assessment using factual methods have innate
problems due to their subjective nature. Factual methods depend on the
assumption that the dietary data compiled are a valid and accurate
assessment of intake and that subjects are in energy balance while the
dietary information is obtained (Jones et al. 1997
).
Even a novel method of dietary intake recording used in this study
resulted in subjects reporting only 76.0 ± 22.9% of their energy
intake. There are several possible reasons for this
underestimation. Since mean energy intake should equal mean intake in
weight-stable subjects, the reported energy intake infers
underestimation of intake or undereating in this population. There was
no mean weight change over the 13 d DLW period; however,
undereating for 4 d followed by overcompensation in energy intake
for the next several days during the study period may have occurred.
Subsequently, when the 4-d intake recording period ended, subjects may
have returned to their normal eating patterns or even overcompensated
for their temporary reduction in food intake while recording. Due to
the relatively short intake recording period, it is difficult to
establish whether a reduction in food intake during the reporting
period or underreporting errors was the cause of the discrepancy
between TEE and reported intake. In fact, both intake reduction and
underreporting may have been jointly responsible. Some subjects may
have underreported in an attempt to conform to socially acceptable food
habits while others actually did conform, eliminating certain foods
from their diet over the study period. Other researchers have reported
negative relationships between reporting accuracy and TEE
(Prentice et al. 1986
, Ravussin et al. 1982
, Schoeller 1988
, Welle et al. 1992
) which is possibly indicative of reluctance to report all
food intake.
Previous studies using self-reported food intakes compared to DLW
show a consistent underestimation by participants and a wide variation
in the energy intakes reported, depending on the method used
(Bingham et al. 1995
, Goran and Poehlman 1992
, Johnson et al. 1994
, Martin et al. 1996
, Schoeller 1990
). Rothenberg et al. (1998)
compared diet histories in elderly Swedish subjects
(n = 12) to DLW and found that they underestimated
TEE by ~12% (8.62 ± 2.06 vs. 9.9 ± 1.43 MJ/d (2060
± 492 vs. 2366 ± 341 kcal/d). Energy intakes calculated
from 7 d of consecutive weighed food records, 24-h recalls and
food frequency questionnaires were compared to DLW in middle-aged
women (n = 28) by Martin et al. (1996)
. TEE was 9.0
± 2.1 MJ/d for subjects who were participating in a long-term
dietary intervention study (48.5 ± 5.0 y, 61.8 ± 6.7
kg). Reporting accuracy was 79.8 ± 17.6% using 7-d weighed food
records. The degree of underreporting was not associated with BMI,
anthropometric measures, percentage of energy from fat or carbohydrate
or length of time of the dietary trial. Reporting accuracy was similar
in the present study at 76.0 ± 22.9%; however, neither method
using 4-d MMDR or a conventional 7-d weighed record adequately
estimated TEE. Johnson et al. (1994)
examined correlates of reporting
accuracy in older women (n = 56, 66 ± 6 y, 64.1 ± 7.6 kg) and found underreporting of -2.2 ± 1.8
± MJ/d (526 ± 430 kcal) compared to TEE. In this group of
normal weight women, TEE was 9.3 ± 1.0 MJ/d as measured by DLW in
a subsample (n = 13) of the study population.
Percentage body fat was negatively correlated with underreporting of
intake (r = -0.42, P = 0.001).
Pannemans and Westerterp (1993)
examined a group of elderly volunteers
(n = 12) using a 4-d food record and compared these
reported intakes with expenditure determined using DLW. They concluded
that food records underestimate energy expenditure and are inversely
correlated with BMI. Results from the present study did not provide a
correlation with BMI nor body fat percentage (data not shown).
The mean TEE in the present study closely approximated TEE found by
Starling et al. (1998)
who measured TEE using DLW (n
= 51, 67 ± 6 y) and found TEE in women was 9.6 ± 2.7 MJ/d (2306 ± 647 kcal/d). In a subgroup of 70 women and men,
the strongest predictors of TEE were resting metabolic rate (RMR) and
VO2 peak which explained ~62% of the variance in TEE.
RMR accounted for 63% of TEE 6.1 ± 1.0 MJ/d (1463 ± 244
kcal/d). Energy expenditure due to physical activity was predicted most
closely by (P < 0.05) VO2
peak (r = 0.43), FFM
(r = 0.39) and body weight (r = 0.34). These studies with similar mean energy expenditures offer
validity to the mean TEE in the present study. The comparable rates of
underreporting found in these studies also lend credence to the
assumption that many subjects are either unwilling or unable to
disclose all food intake.
MMDR were chosen because of the perceived reduction in subject burden
when recording meals with a tape recorder as opposed to written
records. The cross-referencing of tape-recorded diaries with
photographs taken at the time of consumption was considered a method
which could conceivably reduce the frequency rate of omissions.
However, the methodology still relies on subject competence and
willingness to record daily food intake. Bingham (1991)
has suggested
that 20% of subjects are either persistent underreporters or habitual
dieters. She contends that whenever subjects are asked to keep a record
of intake it is plausible that they will change their typical dietary
habits to increase simplification of reporting or because they become
cognizant of how much they really are consuming. The bias is typically
toward underestimating intake due to many reasons including memory
loss, a desire to conform to socially accepted food habits and
simplification of reporting. Simplification of reporting may have been
a factor in this study because some subjects were not confident with
the use of a tape recorder and camera. Error could have occurred if
there was an inclination to put off tape recording until the end of the
day or 4 d recording period instead of as instructed, i.e., before
every food item or beverage. Even though subjects were trained
otherwise, several women indicated to the study coordinator at the end
of the recording period that they had made written records and then
taped their intake at the end of the day or after the 4-d period while
taking pictures as instructed, i.e., before food consumption.
In conclusion, it is likely that the discrepancy between TEE and reported intake stemmed from a reduced intake in some subjects while others intentionally or inadvertently did not disclose all foods consumed. The TEE measurements are similar to those reported in other studies, leading to the conclusion that this multimedia approach to dietary recording failed to measure true intake. Other methods of dietary assessment should be encouraged to improve completeness of reporting food intake or to control for inherent errors in dietary intake assessment.
| FOOTNOTES |
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3 Abbreviations used: APE, atom percentage excess; BMI, body mass index; BMR, basal metabolic rate; DLW, doubly-labeled water; FFM, fat-free mass; IRMS, isotope ratio mass spectrometry; MMDR, multimedia diet record; TBW, total body water; TEE, total energy expenditure. ![]()
Manuscript received August 4, 1999. Revision accepted January 5, 2000.
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