Agreement between two methods of dietary data collection in female adolescent netball players

The accuracy of a combined dietary data collection method (self-reported, weighed food diary and 24-h recall technique) in 13 female, adolescent netball players (14-16 years) was explored. The girls were observed for a 12 h period (08:00-20:00), during which food and drink items were available ad libitum throughout the day and for the period between 20:00 and 08:00 the following morning. All items were covertly weighed before and after consumption to calculate observed energy intake. To calculate participant reported energy intake, food and drink items were weighed and recorded in a food diary by the participants, which was then supplemented with information from the 24-h recall the following morning. Agreement between observed and participant reported energy intake was calculated using the Bland and Altman technique. The mean difference between observed and participant reported energy intake was 0.46 MJ d(-1) (change in mean of 4.2%) indicating a slight bias towards over-reporting using the combined dietary data collection method. There was good agreement at the group level with the confidence interval for bias ranging from 0.00 to 0.92 MJ d(-1). The combined dietary data collection method is an effective technique to employ in 14-16-year old, female adolescent netball players when quantifying energy intake.