Examining Plausibility of Self-Reported Energy Intake Data: Considerations for Method Selection

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Dietary Assessment Methodology
• Biostatistics

Background:

• Self-reported dietary intake data are crucial for nutrition programs and policy.
• Measurement error is inherent in self-reported dietary data.
• Assessing biological plausibility of self-reported energy intake (rEI) is vital before drawing conclusions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review methods for assessing and accounting for implausible self-reported energy intake (rEI).
• To guide researchers in addressing under- and overreporting in dietary data.
• To inform the interpretation of research findings based on dietary intake data.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of crude methods (e.g., excluding extreme intake values).
• Examination of individualized statistical adjustment methods and cutoffs.
• Consideration of within-participant variation in energy intake (EI) and total energy expenditure (TEE).

Main Results:

• Various methods exist to address implausible rEI, including exclusion and statistical adjustments.
• Accounting for misreporting impacts study results and interpretation.
• No single method is universally superior; selection depends on resources and data collection tools.

Conclusions:

• Researchers should employ methods to address implausible rEI in dietary data.
• Failure to apply a method necessitates reporting mean TEE or rEI/TEE for transparency.
• Appropriate handling of misreporting enhances the validity of nutrition research and policy recommendations.