ASSESSMENT OF ENERGY-INTAKE UNDERREPORTING BY DOUBLY LABELED WATER AND OBSERVATIONS ON REPORTED NUTRIENT INTAKES IN CHILDREN

Objective To compare reported energy intake with energy expenditure us ing doubly labeled water (DLW). Additionally, we compared reported nut rient intakes of our subject population with national survey populatio n data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Design This was a cross-sectional study of children, ba lanced by race and gender, primarily characterized by 4 body types: le an, obese, centrally fat, or peripherally fat. Subjects/setting Childr en (n=118; mean age=10 years) kept 8-day food records, with nutritioni sts recording weekday school lunch intakes. These subjects, assisted b y their parents, recorded all breakfasts, dinners, snacks, and weekend lunches. Statistical analyses performed Data were analyzed using leas t squares analysis of variance with the general linear models procedur e. Tukey's test was used for multiple comparisons of predicted treatme nt means. Results Mean daily energy intake was underreported by 17% to 33% of energy expenditure. The tendency to underreport increased with age. Underreporting occurred in all groups and subgroups studied. Rep orted mean intakes of vitamin A, vitamin E, vitamin B-6, calcium, zinc , and copper were less than 70% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance ( RDA) for African-American girls, whereas African-American boys reporte d similarly low intakes of copper. On average, white girls reported in takes less than 70% of the RDA for zinc and copper, whereas white boys reported low intakes of copper (60% of the RDA). Reported intakes in general were somewhat lower than those reported in NHANES III. Applica tions/conclusions Dietetics professionals may modify the nutritional a dvice they give to patients/subjects based on food intake records and other data. For children, particularly, it is imperative that ethnic a nd gender differences be taken into consideration and that all foods e aten be accounted for as much as possible.