El. Ferguson et al., THE RELATIVE VALIDITY OF THE REPEATED 24H RECALL FOR ESTIMATING ENERGY AND SELECTED NUTRIENT INTAKES OF RURAL GHANAIAN CHILDREN, European journal of clinical nutrition, 48(4), 1994, pp. 241-252
Objectives: To investigate the relative validity of the 24 h recall fo
r rural southern Ghanaian children. Design: Cross-sectional study, in
which food consumption was estimated for the same two days, using the
recall and weighed record dietary techniques. Setting: Two villages in
the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Subjects: 72 rural children (39 fe
males and 33 males; 56.2 +/- 9.4 months). Results: Overall agreement i
n the number of foods reported was noted for 42% of records; 53% of re
calls under-reported and 5% over-reported the number of foods consumed
. Over 65% of snacks compared to less than 6% of main meal foods were
missed on recalls. Average recalled portions were similar to weighed w
ith the exception of cereal staples; for Slepor 250 g vs 295 g, P = 0.
007 and for Gidantuba 272 g vs 260 g, P = 0.02. Average daily recalled
intakes of energy and most nutrients were lower (P less-than-or-equal
-to 0.05) than weighed intakes in Slepor, but similar in Gidantuba. In
both villages, the recalled and weighed nutrient intakes per MJ, and
percentage energy from food groups, were similar. Intraclass correlati
ons between recalled and weighed intakes ranged from 0.06 (energy) to
0.78 (vitamin A) per day, and per MJ from 0.36 to 0.76 for Fe in Gidan
tuba and Slepor, respectively. Less than 35% of recalled energy and nu
trient intakes were within +/-10% of weighed intakes. Conclusions: The
recall could be substituted for the weighed record to estimate averag
e intakes of energy and most nutrients, dietary quality and food consu
mption patterns, provided the average recalled serving of cereal stapl
es was accurately estimated. For assessment of individual intakes or s
nack consumption, however, the recall technique was invalid.