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Secular trends in under-reporting in young people
K L Rennie1, S A Jebb, A Wright
1MRC Human Nutrition Research, Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Fulbourn Road, Cambridge, CB1 9NL, UK. kirsten.rennie@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
The British Journal of Nutrition
|March 25, 2005
Summary
Young people increasingly under-report energy intake, a trend that has risen significantly with age. This dietary under-reporting may contribute to the obesity epidemic, highlighting a need for accurate nutritional assessment.
Area of Science:
- Nutritional Science
- Public Health
- Pediatric Nutrition
Background:
- National surveys indicate declining reported energy intake alongside rising obesity prevalence.
- This discrepancy may stem from increased under-reporting of food consumption or reduced energy expenditure.
Purpose of the Study:
- To assess energy intake under-reporting in adolescents (4-18 years) using the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) from 1997.
- To investigate secular trends in under-reporting by comparing NDNS data with the 1983 Diets of British School Children (DBSC) survey.
Main Methods:
- Calculated estimated energy requirements (EER) using established equations.
- Determined the extent of under-reporting as (EER - energy intake) / EER.
- Calculated dietary physical activity level (dPAL) to compare activity levels between surveys.
Main Results:
- In the NDNS (1997), under-reporting was 21% in girls and 20% in boys, increasing with age and higher in overweight individuals.
- dPAL was significantly lower in NDNS compared to DBSC (8-14% decrease), suggesting increased under-reporting over time.
- Physiologically implausible dPAL values were observed in older girls, indicating substantial under-reporting.
Conclusions:
- Evidence supports a secular increase in energy intake under-reporting among young people between 1983 and 1997.
- Under-reporting magnitude increases with age and is more pronounced in overweight youth.
- Accurate quantification of this trend requires historical energy expenditure data.