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Overview of dietary assessment methods for measuring intakes of foods, beverages, and dietary supplements in research studies

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Bailey, Regan L·2021·Current Opinion in Biotechnology
DOI 10.1016/j.copbio.2021.02.007PMC PMC8338737
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Abstract

Measuring the dietary intakes of individuals for research and monitoring purposes is notoriously challenging and is subject to both random and systematic measurement error. In this review, the strengths and limitations of current methods to assess dietary and supplemental exposures are described. Traditional methods of dietary assessment include food records, food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour recalls, and screening tools; digital and mobile methods that leverage technology are available for these traditional methods. Ultimately, the choice of assessment method is dependent upon the research question, the study design, sample characteristics, and the size of the sample, to name just a few. Despite their challenges, dietary assessment tools are an important dimension of nutrition research and monitoring.

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  • Triangulating dietary data with data from wearable tech, mobile apps, school canteen sales data, ecological momentary assessment, direct observation, and proxy reports can provide insights into behaviour changes.

    “Triangulating this data with data from wearable tech, mobile apps, and school canteen sales data, ecological momentary assessment (EMA) for real-time data collection, direct observation of adolescents’ eating behaviours, and proxy reports from family members can provide insights into behaviour changes [70–76].”

    From School-based healthy eating interventions for adolescents aged 10–19 years: an umbrella review (2024) · cites this paper as [70]

    The Introduction (page not available in our copy) notes digital and mobile dietary-assessment methods, and the Summary says that combining assessment methods is preferred. The paper does not describe triangulating the listed sources—wearables, canteen sales, EMA, direct observation, or family proxy reports—or say that doing so reveals behaviour changes. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • These outcome measures are prone to biases and inaccuracies, due to recall bias, social desirability bias, short-term dietary variability, challenges in estimating portion sizes, limited food options, and seasonal variation.

    “These outcome measures are prone to biases and inaccuracies, due to recall bias, social desirability bias (i.e., providing answers they perceive as more socially acceptable rather than accurate), short-term dietary variability, challenges in estimating portion sizes, limited food options, and seasonal variation [70].”

    From School-based healthy eating interventions for adolescents aged 10–19 years: an umbrella review (2024) · cites this paper as [70]

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Research works printed but not linked: 62

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Cited by

Sorted by citations

Authors
Bailey, R. L.
Affiliations
Purdue University West Lafayette (US)
Corresponding author
Bailey, Regan L
ORCID
Bailey, Regan L
Venue
Current Opinion in Biotechnology
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2021-08
Volume
70
Pages
91-96
ISSN
0958-1669 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.copbio.2021.02.007
PMC
PMC8338737
OpenAlex
W3138317816
Cited by
431
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 136 · 2025: 165 · 2024: 91 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 2
FWCI
5.83
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Current Opinion in Biotechnology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • National Cancer Institute (U01CA215834)
  • National Institutes of Health
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutritional Studies and Diet
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Nutrition and Health Studies
  • Health Sciences › Nursing › Nutrition and Dietetics › Nutrition, Health and Food Behavior
Keywords
dietary assessment, dietary supplements, food frequency questionnaire, 24-hour dietary recall, food diary, measurement error, nutrition research, dietary exposure
MeSH terms
Beverages, Diet, Eating, Humans, Nutrition Assessment, Dietary Supplements

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