Underreporting of Dietary Intake: Key Issues for Weight Management Clinicians

AbstractPurpose of ReviewUnderreporting of dietary intake is common in obesity treatment programs. Accurate reporting through daily food diaries is essential for organizing and personalizing treatment. This review explores key concerns for clinicians, summarizes the state of research on causes of underreporting and ways to promote consistency and accuracy, and identifies areas of need for future research.Recent FindingsDietary underreporting is a cross-cultural phenomenon, and obesity is the most consistent correlate. The association with BMI may be mediated by factors like socioeconomic status, gender, and body image. People with obesity —particularly women—tend to underreport high energy foods and those considered socially undesirable. Underreporting may be due to conscious or unconscious processes and is also influenced by literacy issues and the features of reporting tools. Perceived social pressure plays a role in underrepor ting, as does inconvenience of reporting. Web- and smartphone-based reporting options offer alternatives to paper-based reporting, but are prone to the same underreporting issues and may not accurately capture energy and micronutrient content. Some evidence indicates frequency and consistency of rep orting are more important for weight loss than accuracy.SummaryDietary underreporting remains a major issue in weight management for obesity. The majority of studies are descriptive, identifying associations but not incorporating psychometric tests or...
Source: Current Cardiovascular Risk Reports - Category: Cardiology Source Type: research