Examining dietary energy density and eating occasions with the Remote Food Photography Method

Abstract

Increased eating occasions (EO) and meal energy density (ED) may play a role in promoting obesity. The Remote Food Photography Method (RFPM) assesses diets of free‐living individuals in near real‐time. This study examined daily ED of food and energy‐containing beverages consumed and EO in a group of 54 adolescent and adult Caucasian and African American volunteers. Subjects used smartphones to capture images of items consumed at each EO over 2–3 days. Researchers estimated food intake and nutrient composition from images of food sent to a server. Subject height and weight were measured and their body mass index (BMI) calculated. ED with age, gender, race, BMI, and EO and EO with age, gender, race and BMI were examined using backwards stepwise regression and non‐significant variables were dropped (p<0.05). In the final model, the total effects of the independent variables on the outcome variables were reported. Means ± SD were: age, 38.8 ± 14.5 years, BMI, 30.0 ± 5.7 kg/m2, ED, 1.7 ± 0.64 kcal/g, EO, 4.1 ± 1.6 times/day. Forty‐four individuals were female (82%) and 36 were Caucasian (67%). Subjects with a lower ED diet had a higher BMI (p = 0.01). With increased age, the number of EO were greater (p = 0.01). In this study, the near real‐time capabilities of RFPM suggest that weight status was associated with the ED of meals but not with the number of EO. Funded in part by NIH P30 DK072476, NIH R21 AG032231, and Hatch Act Funds # LAB 93846