Introduction
Methods of Assessing Food Intake
Diet Records
A diet record consists of all the foods and drinks that a person consumes at a given time. Three-day dietary data is most often used (preferably two weekdays and one weekend day) to determine an individual's daily food and beverage consumption. The individual should also be told what information will be extracted from the dietary data.
Reviewing specific tips on creating a dietary record and the details that should be present will assist the dietitian in subsequent visits and during analysis. As discussed later in this chapter, snacking and misreporting are issues to consider when asking an individual to complete a dietary record.
Twenty-Four Hour Dietary Recall
Seven-day fed dairies take longer, but can handle a more complete picture of the diet. Both methods allow the dietitian to use the individual's activities as a way to help recall their dietary intake. A 24-hour dietary recall can take approximately 15 to 30 minutes to complete; however, it can take much longer if the individual has had mixed dishes or different foods.1,2 Both the amount and preparation of food play a large role when performing a 24-hour dietary recall.
It is important to ask the individual if the diet consumed within the last 24 hours is a normal diet or if it was a deviation from the norm. As one would expect, the 24-hour recall is also highly dependent on the individual's short-term memory.2 A further complication to food recall relates to its preparation, and accuracy is likely to be less if the diet is not provided by the individual is not prepared. .
Food Frequency Questionnaires
An advantage of this method is that it can be done in person or over the phone in a short time.
Issues with Nutrition Assessment
- Misreporting
- Snacking
- Openness in Reporting
- Time Frame for Determination of Nutrient Status
- Dietary Assessment vs. Clinical Testing
Over-reporting, however, is not as problematic as under-reporting,5 which occurs when an individual does not record or report all the food that was consumed for that record period. The importance of the contribution of snack food to the overall energy and nutrient intake of the dietary recall, diary and questionnaire is vital to the accuracy of such data. To ensure that an accurate nutrient assessment is obtained, one of the most essential factors to consider is the relationship between the client/athlete and the nutritionist.
The dietitian must keep in mind the athlete's culture, socio-economic status, religion and eating behavior during the assessment. Similarly, collection of blood, urine biomarkers, or both, because of potential misreporting issues regarding dietary recalls, diaries, and questionnaires, serves as a means to validate or require further assessment of an individual.20.
Exchange Lists System
Use of the food exchanges can provide a quick, approximate assessment of the amount of calories, carbohydrates, protein and fat present in the diet. Therefore, athletes familiar with the use of the exchange lists can evaluate their own dietary intake, potentially translating into more accurate reporting to their sports dietitians. The use of a Microsoft Excel™ spreadsheet can further simplify the calculation of the amount and distribution of different exchanges throughout the day and their contribution to macro and calorie intake, as well as the determination of each macronutrient's contribution to the total amount. of calories consumed, expressed as percentages.
These calculations can be very useful for athletes with diabetes and their sports dietitians, who may choose to use this simple method as a first step in the energy and macronutrient assessment of these individuals. In addition, the exchange lists can be of particular benefit to athletes who travel abroad, not only to estimate their own nutritional intake, but also to plan meals according to their sports dietitian's recommendations.
Dietary Assessment Abroad
The development and implementation of the above suggestions would be beneficial for sports dietitians in evaluating and analyzing the nutrition of athletes traveling overseas for competition and for international athletes living in the United States. The availability of culturally sensitive nutritional questionnaires, including pictures of common foods from different nationalities, would allow sports dietitians to more specifically and accurately assess the diets of ethnically diverse athletes and those competing overseas. For example, a Brazilian study assessing water and nutrient intake in adolescent athletes used the DRI and American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) guidelines to assess the dietary intake of adolescent athletes.29 In addition, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) were used for most European of research to compare the intake of micronutrients in Europeans25 and to assess the adequacy of nutrients for individuals and populations.30.
Additionally, there are similarities in the assessment methods used in the United States compared to other countries. Dietary surveys conducted across Europe, as well as studies conducted in South America, Africa, and Asia, used food records, food frequency questionnaires, 24-hour recall (single or repeated), dietary history, and combinations of these dietary assessment methods to record the food intake of their individual populations. These similarities could help the comparison of individual dietary intakes worldwide.
Special Issues with Assessing Food Intake in Athletes
- Periodization of Training and Dietary Periodization
- Fluid Intake
- Vegetarian Diets and Assessment
- Gastrointestinal Issues and Assessment
- Supplements
- Traveling
- Jet Lag
- Dining Out and Eating on the Road
- Weight Management
In order to calculate the specific nutritional status of athletes throughout the year, dietary assessments should be performed in each of the different trainings/. Being unaware of the athlete's schedule in relation to periodization can result in a misinterpretation of dietary assessment. This disease can be seen in any area of the gastrointestinal tract, but is usually found in the small intestine, especially the ileum.
Most symptoms can be treated through controlling an athlete's diet, stress management, and medications. This is partly due to the expected inaccuracies in using self-reported data, such as in the case of dietary records kept by athletes.
Translation of Dietary Assessment into Analysis
- Internet Web Sites
- Special Considerations When Choosing Software
- Databases
- Recipes
- New Foods
- Default Assumptions
- Ethnic Foods
- Fluids and Hydration
- Sports Drinks
- Water
- Other Beverages
- Fluid Hydration Status
- Supplement Analysis
Also, the number of food items listed in a database may not reflect the total capability of the software system. Software users usually rely on the integrity of the software developers to determine the accuracy of the nutritional database. Answering these questions will provide the basis for a comprehensive review and evaluation of the nutrient database.
Choosing the software that best suits a dietitian's needs is no easy task. Currently, one of the most widely used databases in the United States is the Nutrient Database for Standard Reference (NDSR), maintained by the USDA.
Conclusions
Cassileth, B. R., Heitzer, M., and Wesa, K., The public health impact of herbs and dietary supplements, Pharm. Buzzard, I.M., Price, K.S., and Warren, R.A., Considerations when selecting nutrient calculation software: Nutrient database evaluation, Am. Source: Manore, M.M., Kam, L.C., and Loucks, A.B., The Female Athlet Triad: Components , Nutrition Issues, and Health Consequences, J.
Bangsbo, J., Norregaard, L., and Thorsoe, F., The effect of carbohydrate diet on intermittent exercise performance, Int. Burke, L.M., Collier, G.R., and Hargreaves, M., Muscle glycogen storage after prolonged exercise: Effect of the glycemic index of carbohydrate feeding, J. Withers, R.T., Laforgia, J., and Heymsfield, S.B., Critical appraisal of the estimation of body composition via two-, three-, and four-compartment models, Am.
Hewitt, M.J., Going, S.B., Williams, D.P., and Lohman, T.G., Fat-free body mass hydration in children and adults: Implications for body composition assessment, Am. Fields, D.A., Hunter, G.R., and Goran, M.I., Validation of the BOD POD with hydrostatic weighing: Influence of body clothing, Int. Kuczmarski, R., Fanelli, M., and Koch, G., Ultrasonic assessment of body composition in obese adults: Overcoming the limitations of the skinfold claw, Am.
Source: Cheuvront, S.N., Moffatt, R.J., and DeRuisseau, K.C., Body Composition and Gender Differences in Performance, in Nutritional Assessment of Athletes, Driskell, J.A. DiBrezzo, R., Fort, I. L., and Brown, B., Relationships between strength, endurance, weight, and body fat during three phases of the menstrual cycle, J. Weber, C. L., Chia, M., and Inbar, O., Gender differences in anaerobic strength of the arms and legs: a scale problem, Med.
Cheuvront, S.N., Moffatt, R.J. and DeRuisseau, K.C., Body composition and gender differences in performance, in Nutritional Assessment of Athletes, Driskell, J.A. Jakicic, J.M., Winter, C., Lagally, K., Ho, J., Robertson, R.J. and Wing, R.R., Accuracy of the TriTrac-R3D accelerometer for estimating energy expenditure, Med. MacDougall, D.J., Wenger, H.A. and Green, H.J., Physiological Testing of the High-Performance Athlete, Human Kinetics Books, Champaign, IL, 1991, p.
Verboeket-Van de Venne, W.P.H.G., Westertrep, K.R., and Kester, A.D.M., Effect of the pattern of food intake on human energy metabolism, Br.
Introduction
Definitions
The assessment of physical activity and energy expenditure has been affected by the inconsistent use of terms; therefore, it is critical to provide an overview of key terminology. Physical activity is a global term and has traditionally been defined as exercise resulting from the contraction of skeletal muscles leading to a substantial increase in energy expenditure above resting levels. In turn, physical activity can be categorized according to context or setting, for example, physical activity in leisure time or recreational activity, including sport, transport and occupational activity (Figure 6.1).
In contrast, exercise is usually defined as planned, structured, and repeated movement with the goal of promoting or maintaining one or more components of physical fitness.9 Therefore, measuring physical activity and exercise can be complex given the variety of the conditions in which an athlete lives, trains and competes. Dimensions of physical activity and exercise include intensity, duration, frequency and mode or type, for example, walking, running, swimming or cycling. Duration of activity or exercise refers to the time spent on the task, and frequency refers to how often one exercises, trains or competes.
Readers are referred to an article by Howley,10 which provides a good overview of the various terms associated with physical activity and exercise and provides guidelines for consistent interpretation of exercise intensity and volume. In other words, training intensity is energy expended above the body's basal metabolic needs, and physical activity can be broadly defined as activity energy expenditure (AEE) or more precisely as exercise energy expenditure (ExEE). Gross energy expenditure is quantified in terms of oxygen consumption and expressed in kcal/min or kJ/min to be more relevant to the individual based on body weight.
In many athletic events and especially in team sports, an overall assessment of the intensity of the event or game can be difficult due to the often intermittent and variable pace and differences across playing positions. It is important to note that each of the components in the chart can also be measured directly using a whole body calorimeter. However, the restrictive nature of the measure (participants are confined to a small space for the length of the measurement) means that free-living measurements are not possible.
Methods of Assessing Physical Activity and Energy Expenditure
Objective Measures
- The Doubly-Labeled Water (DLW) Technique
- Heart Rate Monitoring
- Pedometers
- Accelerometers
- Combined Approaches and New Devices
Subjective Approaches
- Direct Observation
- Physical Activity Records or Diaries
- Physical Activity Questionnaires
- Self-Report Physical Activity Questionnaires
Conclusions
