Estimating energy intake of urban women in Colombia: Comparison of diet records and recalls

As part of a larger study of energy-nutrition, we compared the performance of 24 h diet recalls with estimated diet records kept by trained observers. The subjects were economically disadvantaged women (n = 85) in the city of Call, Colombia. A 24 h recall and an estimated diet record were collected for each woman at 0 and approximately 3 and 6 months, Energy intake obtaine d from the estimated dietary records was validated against energy expenditu re and used as the reference method. Energy and macronutrient intake were c alculated from published food composition tables and proximate analyses of common foods, The number of food items consumed per woman per day, total an d in each of 16 food groups, was tabulated. Energy and macronutrient intake s were 11-13% lower in the 24 h recalls. The discrepancy energy could be la rgely accounted for by the lower number of food items in the recalls. The n umber of food items in eight of 16 food groups was significantly lower in t he recalls compared to the records. Underreporting on the recalls was a gen eral tendency in these subjects and not clearly related to average energy i ntake. We conclude that 24 h diet recalls underestimate energy and nutrient intake in this population and are not suitable for studies of human energe tics. (C) 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.