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48 2.2 Assessing Nutritional Intake
set period of time. After each eating episode the often specific foods with significant iron
food and drinks that the child did not consume content are eaten.
must also be weighed. The difference in weights of
each food or drink item will be what the child has ●● Weighing food and drinks is considered the best
consumed. estimate of dietary intake but it is time consuming
for whoever has to weigh the food and drinks and
There are advantages and disadvantages to each that person must be trained to do it accurately.
method: Weighing each food and drink will disrupt the
normal flow of meal and snack patterns in the
●● Recording a dietary diary may not be done household and consequently may also influence
accurately and there may be some underreporting which foods and drinks are offered to the child.
of certain foods and overreporting of other foods. Hence the results may not reflect what the child
This method can be enhanced by a subsequent would have eaten had there been no interference
interview to clarify any anomalies and also to to the normal routine. A certain amount of the
check the validity and accuracy of measurement food and drinks offered to infants and young
of any quantities. children may be spilt or regurgitated so a weighed
intake for this age group may be less accurate
●● Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ) are less than in older age groups.
expensive to administer and are therefore used
more extensively in large-scale epidemiological Assessing Nutritional Adequacy of
studies investigating the relationship between a Child’s Diet with a Recorded
diet and health outcomes. The key point about Food Intake
an FFQ is that it records the type of food eaten
and the frequency of consumption. They For assessing individual diets a recorded food diary
reflect what the interviewee estimates that is a very useful method. Parents of younger children
they eat but may not be accurate. They also or older children themselves are asked to complete a
have a use in checking the dietary intake of food diary such as that shown in Figure 2.2.1.
specific nutrients. In young children they may
be used to estimate iron intake by asking how
Daily food and drinks diary
DATE: Location All food and drinks Quantity or Time taken Who else was
Kitchen table offered weight eaten 10 minutes also eating
Time Bowl Cheerios with full fat All milk left Sister and
7:30 milk + 1 tsp sugar mother
10:30 School playground 1 slice toast with butter and All toast eaten 15 minutes Friends
12:00 School canteen jam All 20 minutes Friends
200mL carton apple juice ½ pasta and meat
2 cereal bars sauce
5 tbsp pasta no carrots or
3 tbsp meat sauce cauliflower
6 carrot sticks
3 cauliflower florets All dessert
Bowl apple crumble and ½ water
custard
glass of water
Figure 2.2.1 A daily food and drinks diary
