The measurement of food and energy intake in man—an evaluation of some techniques

A dietary survey was carried out on an Antarctic base over a period of 6 to 12 months on twelve individuals. Three methods of determining individual food and energy intake were used—weighing and recording of food as eaten in combination with food tables, dietary recall, and bomb calorimetry of duplicate meals. Use of weighed food intakes and food composition tables underestimated energy intake by 7% when compared to analysis of duplicate meals by bomb calorimetry. One week was found to be the most practical period over which intake should be measured to determine “habitual” food intake.