Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Short Communication
  • Published:

Dietary under-reporting: what foods and which meals are typically under-reported?

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 70, pages 640–641 (2016)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Little objective information exists regarding which foods and meals are typically under-reported during retrospective self-reported dietary assessments. Automated wearable cameras record dietary behaviours in free-living settings and allow the context of under-reporting to be explored. As part of a study to validate image-assisted dietary assessment, 40 participants wore a wearable camera on days before three image-assisted 24-h dietary recalls. The foods and meals were typically under-reported, and the environmental and social contexts of under-reporting were assessed. Under-reporting occurred most frequently during afternoon snacks (75/265 foods), dinner (54/265 foods) and breakfast (44/265 foods). Snack foods were most frequently unreported during afternoon snacks, and condiments were most frequently under-reported at breakfasts. No clear pattern of social or environmental contexts for under-reporting was observed. Wearable cameras can identify when specific foods are likely to be under-reported during retrospective dietary assessments. Problematic foods and meals identified could be given additional attention during dietary assessments.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Poslusna K, Ruprich J, De Vries JHM, Jakubikova M, Van't Veer P . Misreporting of energy and micronutrient intake estimated by food records and 24 hour recalls, control and adjustment methods in practice. Br J Nutr 2009; 101: S73–S85.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Gemming L, Rush E, Maddison R, Doherty A, Gant N, Utter J et al. Wearable cameras can reduce dietary under-reporting: doubly labelled water validation of a camera-assisted 24-hr recall. Br J Nutr 2015; 113: 284–291.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. O'Loughlin G, Cullen SJ, McGoldrick A, O'Connor S, Blain R, O'Malley S et al. Using a wearable camera to increase the accuracy of dietary analysis. Am J Prev Med 2013; 44: 297–301.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Gemming L, Doherty A, Kelly P, Utter J, Ni Mhurchu C . Feasibility of a SenseCam-assisted 24-h recall to reduce under-reporting of energy intake. Eur J Clin Nutr 2013; 67: 1095–1099.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Subar AF, Kirkpatrick SI, Mittl B, Zimmerman TP, Thompson FE, Bingley C et al. The automated self-administered 24-hour dietary recall (ASA24): a resource for researchers, clinicians, and educators from the national cancer institute. J Acad Nutr Diet 2012; 112: 1134–1137.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Moshfegh AJ, Rhodes DG, Baer DJ, Murayi T, Clemens JC, Rumpler WV et al. The US department of agriculture automated multiple-pass method reduces bias in the collection of energy intakes. Am J Clin Nutr 2008; 88: 324–332.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Gemming L, Doherty A, Utter J, Shields E, Mhurchu CN . The use of a wearable camera to capture and categorise the environmental and social context of self-identified eating episodes. Appetite 2015; 92: 118–125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Gemming L, Utter J, Mhurchu CN . Image-assisted dietary assessment: a systematic review of the evidence. J Acad Nutr Diet 2015; 115: 64–77.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Bai Y, Li C, Yue Y, Jia W, Li J, Mao Z-H et al (eds). Designing a Wearable Computer for Lifestyle Evaluation. Bioengineering Conference (NEBEC), 2012 38th Annual Northeast; 2012 March 16-18: IEEE.

  10. Sun M, Fernstrom JD, Jia W, Hackworth SA, Yao N, Li Y et al. A wearable electronic system for objective dietary assessment. J Am Diet Assoc 2010; 110: 45–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Health Innovation, University of Auckland, Auckland, New Zealand

    L Gemming & C Ni Mhurchu

Authors
  1. L Gemming
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. C Ni Mhurchu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to L Gemming.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Gemming, L., Ni Mhurchu, C. Dietary under-reporting: what foods and which meals are typically under-reported?. Eur J Clin Nutr 70, 640–641 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.204

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2015.204

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links