Validity of dietary assessment methods compared with doubly labeled water in children: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to validate dietary assessment methods against the gold standard, doubly labeled water (DLW), for estimating total energy intake (TEI).

METHODS

PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar databases were searched until May 2023. Inclusion criteria encompassed studies involving participants aged 1-18 years, employing dietary assessment methods like food records, dietary histories, food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), or 24-h recalls estimating TEI alongside DLW to measure total energy expenditure (TEE). Data were pooled using random-effects meta-analysis models.

RESULTS

Thirty-three studies were identified, with sample sizes ranging from 9 to 118 participants. Meta-analysis of 22 studies identified underestimation of TEI (mean difference [MD] = -262.9 kcal/day [95% CI: -380.0, -145.8]; I2 = 93.55%) for food records compared with TEE estimated by DLW. Other dietary assessment methods, including food recalls (n = 9) (MD = 54.2 kcal/day [95% CI: -19.8, 128.1]; I2 = 49.62%), FFQ (n = 7) (MD = 44.5 kcal/day [95% CI: -317.8, 406.8]; I2 = 94.94%), and diet history (n = 3) (MD = -130.8 kcal/day [95% CI: -455.8, 194.1]; I2 = 77.48%), showed no significant differences in TEI compared with DLW-estimated TEE. All studies were of high quality.

CONCLUSION

Food records may underestimate TEI, yet additional research is needed to identify the most accurate methods for assessing children's dietary intake.

Characteristics of Global Data on Adolescent's Dietary Intake: A Systematic Scoping Review

Data on adolescents' dietary intake are essential to improve their diets and nutrition. However, the availability of (high-quality) data on adolescents' dietary intake is scarce with great global differences. We conducted a systematic scoping review to investigate the availability, characteristics, and gaps in global adolescent dietary data, following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses-Extension for Scoping Reviews checklist and guidelines (registered under PROSPERO no. 171170 https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/). We included peer-reviewed and grey literature articles (2010 onwards) on the dietary intake of male and female adolescents (10-24 y). Studies from all countries and languages and including any information related to types of food consumed, diet composition, dietary diversity, or meal patterns were considered. We excluded studies with insufficient methodological information, unclear description of population, samples sizes <25, school-based data sets containing <6 schools, and studies that focused on pregnant or unhealthy study populations. Data, including year(s) of data collection, age, gender, sample size, dietary assessment methods, number of food items/groups, study design, location, and representativeness, were extracted. A total of 52,889 titles were identified and 722 articles, describing 1,322 data sets, were retained for analysis. Nationally representative, detailed dietary data for adolescents aged 10-24 y are still lacking, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and low-income countries. Data quality and representativeness remain limited, highlighting the need for data disaggregation by age, gender, locality, comprehensive dietary information, and broader geographic coverage. A notable amount of data was available through grey literature, especially in data-scarce countries. The study underscores the importance of addressing adolescent nutrition, emphasizing the urgent need for more robust, accessible, and representative data on adolescents' dietary intake to support effective nutritional efforts.

Phthalate and bisphenol a exposures during pregnancy: Findings from the National Children's Study

Maternal exposure to phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy can result in many adverse offspring health outcomes. Exposure to phthalates and BPA can vary depending on consumption of certain foods, some of which may vary by race/ethnicity. This study relates urine phthalate and BPA concentrations to sociodemographic and diet data. Concentrations of bisphenol A (BPA) and 11 phthalate metabolites were measured from spot urine at the third trimester visit of a sample of 485 pregnant women from the National Children's Study Vanguard Study Pilot data from seven U.S. cities. At the same time, food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) using the Diet*Calc software were obtained from 313 (65%) participants to assess dietary behavior. Overall, phthalate metabolites were highest among Hispanic women, particularly mBP, miBP, and mECPP, and these disparities were not explained by diet. Participants who did not attend college had higher concentrations of mBP, mBzP, mEP, and miBP, and lower mCOP. These disparities were also not explained by diet. The causes for these disparities should be further studied to reduce potential negative health outcomes associated with phthalate exposure for children of Hispanic or non-college educated women.