Abstract
Validity of image-assisted and image-based dietary assessment methods relies on the accuracy of portion size estimation based on food images. However, little is known on the ability of nutrition professionals in assessing dietary intake based on digital food images. This study aims to examine the ability of nutrition professionals in reviewing food images with regard to food item identification and portion size estimation. Thirty-eight nutritionists, dietitians, and nutrition researchers participated in this study. Through an online questionnaire, participants’ accuracy in identifying food items and estimating portion sizes of two sets of digital food images presenting a meal on a plate (Image PL) and in a bowl (Image BW) were tested. Participants reported higher accuracy in interpreting Image BW compared to Image PL, both in terms of accuracy in food identification (75.3 ± 17.6 vs. 68.9 ± 17.1%) and percentage difference in portion size estimation (44.3 ± 16.6 vs. 47.6 ± 21.2%). Weight of raw vegetables was significantly underestimated (−45.1 ± 22.8% vs. −21.2 ± 37.4%), while drink was significantly overestimated (40.1 ± 45.8% vs. 26.1 ± 32.2) in both images. Less than one-third of the participants estimated portion size within 10% of actual weight for Image PL (23.7%) and Image BW (32.3%). Accuracy of nutrition professionals in reviewing food images could be further improved with training on better perception of portion sizes from images.
Highlights
Food images, including those taken with handheld devices and wearable cameras, have been widely used in dietary assessment methods [1]
Nutritionists, dietitians, and researchers who had formal university-level training in dietetics, nutrition, and/or food science and whose work involved dietary assessment were eligible for this study
The present study examined the ability of young nutrition professionals, comprising practicing nutritionists, dietitians and nutrition-trained researchers from different work settings in Malaysia, in reviewing digital food images for dietary assessment
Summary
Food images, including those taken with handheld devices and wearable cameras, have been widely used in dietary assessment methods [1]. Digital food images, especially those captured passively by wearable cameras, have been used as the primary tool for dietary records [4,5,6]. These image-based dietary assessment methods have been employed to improve diet recording in free-living settings, and have been shown to be preferred by participants who may use this method to record their diet intake for up to 1.5 months [7]. Image-assisted and image-based dietary assessment methods have been shown to be feasible and accepted by users of different age groups and countries [7,8,9], including in Malaysia [10]. One of the key considerations when establishing these methods lie in the accuracy of reviewing food images
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