A record method in studying actual nutrition of adolescents: factors influencing the reliability of the provided information
Objective. To assess the factors influencing the reliability of the provided information when using a record method to characterise actual nutrition of rural adolescents. Patients and methods. We analysed 3-day food diaries of 150 adolescents. For assessment of the reliability of the records we calculated the threshold values corresponding to one standard deviation (SD) of the daily calorie intake value calculated according to the diaries to the energy expenditures appropriate for this gender and age. Diary data were considered reliable, if the percentage ratio of actual energy intake to appropriate energy expenditure was within the range of 1 SD. All adolescents underwent anthropometric measurements (height, weight, waist circumference (WC)), calculation of body mass index (BMI). The method of binary logistic regression with building uni- and multifactor models and calculation of odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence intervals was used to reveal data associated with provision of unreliable nutrition information. Results. Unreliable nutrition information was provided by 58 (38.7%) adolescents, of them 5 (8.6%) participants overestimated and 53 (91.4%) underestimated their diets. Underestimation was significantly more often characteristic for boys and older adolescents. As was additionally shown in multidimensional models, diet underestimation is significantly associated with involvement of adolescents in organised sports activities (OR 2.5 [1.1-5.4], and also with anthropometric parameters (OR 1.7 J [1.1-2.4] for BMI SDS; OR 1.5 [1.1-2.2] for WC SDS). Conclusion. When adolescents use a record method for estimation of their actual nutrition, the frequency of reporting unreliable information about their diets is high. The factors influencing provision of unreliable information should be taken into account in conducting research work.