Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-21T14:34:13.076Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Accuracy of estimates of food portion size using food photographs – the importance of using age-appropriate tools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2007

Emma Foster ,
John NS Matthews ,
Michael Nelson ,
Julie M Harris ,
John C Mathers  and
Ashley J Adamson
Emma Foster*
Affiliation:
Human Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, William Leech Building, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
John NS Matthews
Affiliation:
School of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK
Michael Nelson
Affiliation:
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, King's College London, London, UK
Julie M Harris
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK
John C Mathers
Affiliation:
Human Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, William Leech Building, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
Ashley J Adamson
Affiliation:
Human Nutrition Research Centre, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, William Leech Building, Medical School, Framlington Place, Newcastle upon Tyne NE2 4HH, UK
*
*Corresponding author: Email Emma.Foster@ncl.ac.uk
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
Background

In order to obtain a measure of nutrient intake, a measure or estimate of the amount of food consumed is required. Weighing foods imposes a large burden on subjects, often resulting in underreporting. Tools are available to assist subjects in providing an estimate of portion size and these include food photographs. The application of these tools in improving portion size estimation by children has not been investigated systematically.

Objectives

To assess the accuracy with which children are able to estimate food portion sizes using food photographs designed for use with adults, and to determine whether the accuracy of estimates is improved when age-appropriate portion size photographs are provided.

Design

Original data from three separate studies, on the accuracy of portion size estimates by adults using food photographs, by children using adult photographs and by children using age-appropriate photographs, are analysed and compared.

Subjects

One hundred and thirty-five adults aged 18 to 90 years and 210 children aged 4 to 11 years.

Results

Children's estimates of portion sizes using age-appropriate food photographs were significantly more accurate (an underestimate of 1% on average) than estimates using photographs designed for use with adults (an overestimate of 45% on average). Accuracy of children's estimates of portion size using age-appropriate photographs was not significantly different from that of adults. Children overestimated a food's weight by 18% on average and adults underestimated by 5%.

Conclusions

Providing children with food photographs depicting age-appropriate portion sizes greatly increases the accuracy of portion size estimates compared with estimates using photographs designed for use with adults.

Keywords

Portion size estimationFood photographsChildrenAdults
Type
Research Article
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Volume 9 , Issue 4 , June 2006 , pp. 509 - 514
Copyright
Copyright © The Authors 2006

References

1Berenson, GS, Srinivasan, SR, Bao, W, Newman, WP 3rd, Tracy, RE, Wattigney, WA. Association between multiple cardiovascular risk factors and atherosclerosis in children and young adults. New England Journal of Medicine 1998; 338: 1650–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2Gaziano, JM. When should heart disease prevention begin? New England Journal of Medicine 1998; 338: 1690–2.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
3Wardle, J. Parental influences on children's diets. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 1995; 54: 747–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
4Welten, DC, Kemper, HC, Post, GB, Van Staveren, WA, Twisk, JW. Longitudinal development and tracking of calcium and dairy intake from teenager to adult. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997; 51: 612–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5Macdiarmid, JI, Blundell, JE. Dietary underreporting: what people say about recording their food intake. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition 1997; 51: 199–200.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6Crawley, H. Food Portion Sizes. 2nd ed. London: HMSO, 1993.Google Scholar
7Gregory, J, Lowe, S. National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Young People aged 4 to 18 years. London: HMSO, 2000.Google Scholar
8Barton, KL, Wrieden, WL, Longbottom, PJ, Adamson, AJ, Ogston, SA. How accurate are standard children's food portion sizes for estimation of dietary intakes of children of different ages? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2003; 62: 85A.Google Scholar
9Nelson, M, Atkinson, M, Meyer, J. A Photographic Atlas of Food Portion Sizes. London: MAFF Publications, 1997.Google Scholar
10Hackett, AF, Rugg-Gunn, AJ, Appleton, DR, Allinson, M, Eastoe, JE. Sugars-eating habits of 405 11- to 14-year-old English children. British Journal of Nutrition 1984; 51: 347–56.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11Cameron, ME, Van Staveren, WA, eds. Manual on Methodology for Food Consumption Studies. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.Google Scholar
12Nelson, M, Atkinson, M, Darbyshire, S. Food photography II: use of food photographs for estimating portion size and the nutrient content of meals. British Journal of Nutrition 1996; 76: 31–49.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13Frobisher, C, Maxwell, SM. The estimation of food portion sizes: a comparison between using descriptions of portion sizes and a photographic food atlas by children and adults. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 2003; 16: 181–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
14Livingstone, MBE, Robson, PJ. Measurement of dietary intake in children. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2000; 59: 279–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15Revill, SA, Adamson, AJ, Stacy, R, Hooper, J, Moynihan, P. The effect of an after school ‘food club’ on intake of foods and nutrients by children from deprived social backgrounds. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2001; 60: 189A.Google Scholar
16Anderson, AS, Porteous, LEG, Foster, E, Higgins, C, Stead, M, Hetherington, M, et al. The impact of a school-based nutrition education intervention on dietary intake and cognitive and attitudinal variables relating to fruits and vegetables. Public Health Nutrition 2005; 8: 650–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17Curtis, PJ, Adamson, AJ, Mathers, JC. Associations between fruit and vegetable, starch and fat consumption? Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2001; 60: 183A.Google Scholar
18Foster, E. Assessing dietary intake in primary school children. PhD thesis, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK, 2003.Google Scholar
19Foster, E, Matthews, JNS, Adamson, AJ. The development and evaluation of portion size assessment tools for use with children. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society 2006; in press.Google Scholar
20Nelson, M, Atkinson, M, Darbyshire, S. Food photography I: the perception of food portion size from photographs. British Journal of Nutrition 1994; 72: 649–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
21Robinson, F, Morritz, W, McGuiness, P, Hackett, AF. A study of the use of a photographic food atlas to estimate served and self-served portion sizes. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics 1997; 10: 117–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
22Robson, PJ, Livingstone, MB. An evaluation of food photographs as a tool for quantifying food and nutrient intakes. Public Health Nutrition 2000; 3: 183–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed