Accounting for misreporting when comparing energy intake across time in Canada

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health Research
• Dietary Assessment

Background:

• National energy intake estimates decreased between 2004 and 2015.
• This decline is too significant to be attributed to changes in population energy needs or physical activity.
• Self-reported dietary data is prone to misreporting, potentially explaining the observed differences.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate changes in dietary misreporting prevalence from 2004 to 2015.
• To demonstrate how shifts in misreporting affect the interpretation of Canadian national dietary intake data.

Main Methods:

• Utilized data from the 2004 and 2015 Canadian Community Health Survey - Nutrition (CCHS - Nutrition).
• Calculated the ratio of energy intake to total energy expenditure requirements (EI:TEE) to classify participants as under-reporters, over-reporters, or plausible reporters.
• Conducted descriptive analyses and examined major caloric sources contributing to differences in estimated energy requirements.

Main Results:

• Under-reporting prevalence increased by 7.5% in 2015 compared to 2004, while over-reporting decreased by 7.4%.
• No significant change was observed in the prevalence of plausible reporters.
• Estimated energy intake among plausible reporters differed by 84 kcal between 2004 and 2015, versus 250 kcal for the entire sample.

Conclusions:

• Changes in dietary misreporting significantly influence the analysis and comparison of national intake data between 2004 and 2015.
• Acknowledging these reporting status shifts is essential for accurate data interpretation.
• Employing comparable categories of plausible reporters or adjusting for reporting status can improve data comparability.