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Dietary intake reports fidelity--fact or fiction?

Suchanek P, Poledne R, Hubacek J.
Journal Article 2011; 32(Suppl 2): 29-31 PubMed PMID: 22101879 Citation  Keywords:  Adolescent, Adult, Bias (Epidemiology), Diet, Diet Surveys:standards, Eating, Energy Intake, Fatty Acids, Fruit, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Reproducibility of Results, Rural Population, Vegetables, Young Adult,.   

OBJECTIVES: Bias is common in the assessment of self-reported dietary intake and physical activity. Little is known about the reasons for this underreporting, which is obtained even from rural individuals and lean subjects.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Healthy volunteers (16 males, aged 18-55 years) were given two different full diets (high and low in saturated fat), each for a period of 4 weeks.

RESULTS: The subjects were able to provide a report of their dietary intake with relatively high accuracy (68.4%) on day one. Accuracy declined on day two (64.2%), and on day three, the reporting accuracy was only 55.0% (p<0.05). Interestingly, on day one, individuals were more precise (p<0.05) in their dietary reports if they had consumed an unhealthy diet high in saturated fat (72.5%) than a healthy diet high in unsaturated fat (64.4%). The most frequently omitted items were fruits and vegetables. The non-reporting of food items consumed is very high, even in the short term, and individuals tend to remember unhealthy items better.

CONCLUSIONS: Our pilot study showed that the inaccuracy of self-reported data includes not only the underestimation of energy intake (portion size) but also inaccurate qualitative data....

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Importance of diet in protection against oxidative damage.

Staruchová M, Volková K, Lajdová A, Misl'anová C, Collins A, Wsólová L, Staruch L, Dusinská M.
Comparative Study 2006; 27(Suppl 2): 112-115 PubMed PMID: 17159793 Citation  Keywords:  Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, DNA Damage, Diet, Female, Fruit, Humans, Male, Malondialdehyde:blood, Middle Aged, Mineral Fibers:toxicity, Occupational Diseases:prevention & control, Oxidative Stress, Vegetables, Vitamins:blood,.   

OBJECTIVES: In humans, epidemiological evidence suggests that increased consumption of fruits and vegetables can substantially enhance the protection against many common types of cancer.

METHODS & RESULTS: A molecular epidemiological study in 3 Slovak factories producing asbestos, glass fibres and rockwool was conducted. Altogether 388 subjects (239 exposed, 148 controls) were investigated. Food frequency questionnaire was used to ascertain nutrient intake and compared to plasma levels of selected micronutrients, as well as to markers of oxidative stress (MDA, oxidative DNA damage and DNA repair) and antioxidant protection. We found a negative correlation between MDA concentrations and consumption of fruits (p=0.05) and vegetables (p=0.05) in all control subjects. Intake of fruits (p=0.05), vegetables (p=0.01), milk (p=0.01) and cereals (p=0.05) inversely correlated with oxidative DNA damage (net FPG) in all subjects investigated. There was a negative correlation between the intake of fruits (p=0.05) and vegetables (p=0.01) in all exposed subjects.

CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that well balanced food consumption with higher fruits and vegetables intake has a protective effect against oxidative damage....

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