A Systematic Review of the Validity of Dietary Assessment Methods in Children when Compared with the Method of Doubly Labeled Water

Measuring dietary intake in children enables the assessment of nutritional adequacy of individuals and groups and can provide information about nutrients, including energy, food, and eating habits. The aim of this review was to determine which dietary assessment method(s) provide a valid and accurate estimate of energy intake by comparison with the gold standard measure, doubly labeled water (DLW). English-language articles published between 1973 and 2009 and available from common nutrition databases were retrieved. Studies were included if the subjects were children birth to age 18 years and used the DLW technique to validate reported energy intake by any other dietary assessment method. The review identified 15 cross-sectional studies, with a variety of comparative dietary assessment methods. These included a total of 664 children, with the majority having <30 participants. The majority of dietary assessment method validation studies indicated a degree of misreporting, with only eight studies identifying this to a significant level (P