Abstract
Objective: To verify the relative validity of 24-hour Dietary Recall (R24h) as an assessment tool of schoolchildren´s food intake. Methods: A cross-sectional study of 41 students of a big Brazilian urban center, with a mean age of 0.25–8.35 years and 22% had excess weight. The R24h was applied a day after direct observation of intake (reference method). Weight and height were measured and the participants were categorized according to nutritional status (excess weight or not). The median energy, macronutrients (carbohydrate, protein and lipid) and micronutrients intake (iron, calcium and vitamin A) was compared. The Mann-Whitney test was conducted. Also, Spearman and kappa correlation coefficients were calculated. Results: Median energy and nutrient intake irrespective of nutritional status was similar according to the test and reference methods. Higher correlations were found for protein (r= 0.87) and iron (r = 0.71) but the values were more accentuated among students with excess weight. Kappa coefficient was low for vitamin A, moderate for carbohydrate and lipid, good for iron and protein, and very good for energy. Conclusions: R24h is a valid method for the assessment of food intake among schoolchildren. It is a potential practical and economical food assessment method, which can find application in epidemiological studies focused on food intake in early life.
Highlights
Healthy and adequate food intake is indispensable for children growth and development
There is the need to evaluate the nutritional status of children through food intake and the efficiency of public policies focused on childrens nutrition (Sichieri & Souza, 2008)
In relation to nutritional status, a stronger correlation was observed for energy intake (0.91), carbohydrates (0.93), lipids (0.90) and iron (0.93) in children with excess weight compared to children without excess weight
Summary
Healthy and adequate food intake is indispensable for children growth and development. In the United States, the incidence of excess weight among schoolchildren increased from 4 to 16.4% among boys and 4.5 to 19.1% among girls between 1970 and 2012 (Fryar et al, 2014). Children are in the phase of cognitive development which can limit the consistent recall of food intake, time, food names and preparation methods and amount consumed (Livingstone & Robson, 2021). Food assessment instruments designed for children are few and their application depends on factors such as time and cost. In this context, the 24-hour Food Recall (R24h) emerges as a relatively inexpensive and quick alternative that does not influence information provided by the child. The present study verified the relative validity of R24h as an assessment instrument of schoolchildrens food intake
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