Abstract
The assessment of dietary intake is important in nutrition science, however the methods used for this purpose may lead to misreporting, thereby skewing the results associated with diet. This study aims to assess the prevalence of misreporting of dietary intake and associated factors. This is a cross-sectional study with users of nine Health Promotion Services – called ‘City fitness facilities’ – in Belo Horizonte in the State of Minas Gerais. Sociodemographic and economic data were collected together with information on health history and perceptions, dietary habits and nutritional status. The assessment of energy intake was performed using 24-hour dietary recalls and misreporting of energy intake was determined using the McCrory method. Of the 487 users assessed, 82.3% were female and 50.5% were elderly. The prevalence of underreporting was 11,9%, being more prevalent among participants with dyslipidemia and very high waist circumference and was less prevalent among adults, people satisfied with their body weight and those with appropriate meal frequency. Overreporting was found in only 0.8% of the sample. Underreporting was identified as being a problem in this population, thus calling for strategies for improving dietary reporting accuracy.
Energy intake; Diet surveys; Primary Health Care