Abstract
Objective: To assess the degree of underestimation of nutrient intakes caused by missing data in McCance and Widdowson’s food tables and supplements, the standard food tables used in the UK.
Subjects: 1026 children aged 18 months.
Setting: A research clinic in Bristol.
Interventions: A 3-day dietary diary was completed for each child. These were coded and analysed using a database consisting of the unedited information in the food tables, to produce a set of ‘uncorrected’ nutrient intakes. ‘Guesstimated’ values for nutrient content were then added to our nutrient database in place of the missing values in the food tables, and the daily nutrient intakes were recalculated.
Main outcome measures: Calculated daily nutrient intakes before and after substituting missing data in the food tables for guesstimated values.
Results: Of the 1027 foods used in the analysis, 540 had missing data for one or more nutrient content. For several of the nutrients examined adding guesstimated values altered the calculated nutrient intake of more than 90% of the subjects. However, for nutrients such as the B vitamins and the major minerals the mean percentage underestimate was very small. We calculated the underestimation of nutrient intake to be largest for vitamins E and D (13.8% and 14.7%, respectively). The effect of missing data on calculated nutrient intakes was proportionately greater at the bottom end of the nutrient intake distribution.
Conclusion: Missing data has a fairly small effect on calculated mean daily intakes. However, it can result in some individuals being misranked within a nutrient intake distribution. The availability of a standard set of ‘guesstimates’ to use in place of missing data would reduce this problem, and would improve comparability between dietary surveys.
Sponsor: University of Bristol.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 12 print issues and online access
$259.00 per year
only $21.58 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Guarantor: I Cowin.
Contributorship: Both authors collaborated closely in producing the data and writing the paper.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cowin, I., Emmett, P. The effect of missing data in the supplements to McCance and Widdowson’s food tables on calculated nutrient intakes. Eur J Clin Nutr 53, 891–894 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600873
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1600873
Keywords
This article is cited by
-
Dietary sources of animal and plant protein intake among Flemish preschool children and the association with socio-economic and lifestyle-related factors
Nutrition Journal (2011)
-
The EPIC nutrient database project (ENDB): a first attempt to standardize nutrient databases across the 10 European countries participating in the EPIC study
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2007)
-
The effect of maternal smoking status, educational level and age on food and nutrient intakes in preschool children: results from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003)
-
Fat content of the diet among pre-school children in Britain; relationship with food and nutrient intakes
European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2002)