Under-reporting of food intake is frequent among Brazilian free-living older persons: a doubly labelled water study†

The assessment of food intake is essential for the development of dietetic interventions. Accuracy is low when intake is assessed by questionnaires, the under-reporting of food intake being frequent. Most such studies, however, were performed in developed countries and there is little data about the older population of developing nations. This study aimed to verify the total energy expenditure (TEE) of independent older Brazilians living in an urban area, through the doubly labelled water (DLW) method and to compare it with the reported energy intake obtained through the application of a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Initially, 100 volunteers aged from 60 to 75 years had their body composition determined by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA). Five volunteers of each quartile of body fat percentage had their energy expenditure determined by DLW. The mean age of the subjects included in this phase of the study was 66.4 ± 3.5 years, and ten of the subjects were men. The mean TEE was 2565 ± 614 and 2154 ± 339 kcal.day−1 for men and women, respectively. The Physical Activity Level (PAL) was 1.58 ± 0.31 and 1.52 ± 0.22, respectively. Under-reporting of food intake was highly prevalent, with a mean percentage of reported intake in relation to measured TEE of −17.7%. Thus, under-reporting of food intake is highly prevalent among Brazilian independent older persons. The DLW method is an important tool in nutritional studies and its use is to be recommended in developing countries. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.