Fourth-grade children's dietary recall accuracy for energy intake at school meals differs by social desirability and body mass index percentile in a study concerning retention interval.

Data from a study concerning retention interval and school-meal observation on children's dietary recalls were used to investigate relationships of social desirability score (SDS) and body mass index percentile (BMI%) to recall accuracy for energy for observed (n = 327) children, and to reported energy for observed and unobserved (n = 152) children. Report rates (reported/observed) correlated negatively with SDS and BMI%. Correspondence rates (correctly reported/observed) correlated negatively with SDS. Inflation ratios (overreported/observed) correlated negatively with BMI%. The relationship between reported energy and each of SDS and BMI% did not depend on observation status. Studies utilizing children's dietary recalls should assess SDS and BMI%.

Children's body mass index, participation in school meals, and observed energy intake at school meals.

BACKGROUND: Data from a dietary-reporting validation study with fourth-grade children were analyzed to investigate a possible relationship of body mass index (BMI) with daily participation in school meals and observed energy intake at school meals, and whether the relationships differed by breakfast location (classroom; cafeteria). METHODS: Data were collected in 17, 17, and 8 schools during three school years. For the three years, six, six, and seven of the schools had breakfast in the classroom; all other schools had breakfast in the cafeteria. Information about 180 days of school breakfast and school lunch participation during fourth grade for each of 1,571 children (90% Black; 53% girls) was available in electronic administrative records from the school district. Children were weighed and measured, and BMI was calculated. Each of a subset of 465 children (95% Black; 49% girls) was observed eating school breakfast and school lunch on the same day. Mixed-effects regression was conducted with BMI as the dependent variable and school as the random effect; independent variables were breakfast participation, lunch participation, combined participation (breakfast and lunch on the same day), average observed energy intake for breakfast, average observed energy intake for lunch, sex, age, breakfast location, and school year. Analyses were repeated for BMI category (underweight/healthy weight; overweight; obese; severely obese) using pooled ordered logistic regression models that excluded sex and age. RESULTS: Breakfast participation, lunch participation, and combined participation were not significantly associated with BMI or BMI category irrespective of whether the model included observed energy intake at school meals. Observed energy intake at school meals was significantly and positively associated with BMI and BMI category. For the total sample and subset, breakfast location was significantly associated with BMI; average BMI was larger for children with breakfast in the classroom than in the cafeteria. Significantly more kilocalories were observed eaten at breakfast in the classroom than in the cafeteria. CONCLUSIONS: For fourth-grade children, results provide evidence of a positive relationship between BMI and observed energy intake at school meals, and between BMI and school breakfast in the classroom; however, BMI and participation in school meals were not significantly associated.

Fourth-grade children's dietary recall accuracy is influenced by retention interval (target period and interview time).

BACKGROUND: For a 24-hour dietary recall, two possible target periods are the prior 24 hours (24 hours immediately preceding the interview time) and previous day (midnight to midnight of the day before the interview), and three possible interview times are morning, afternoon, and evening. Target period and interview time determine the retention interval (elapsed time between to-be-reported meals and the interview), which, along with intervening meals, can influence reporting accuracy. OBJECTIVE: The effects of target period and interview time on children's accuracy for reporting school meals during 24-hour dietary recalls were investigated. DESIGN AND SUBJECTS/SETTING: During the 2004-2005, 2005-2006, and 2006-2007 school years in Columbia, SC, each of 374 randomly selected fourth-grade children (96% African American) was observed eating two consecutive school meals (breakfast and lunch) and interviewed to obtain a 24-hour dietary recall using one of six conditions defined by crossing two target periods with three interview times. Each condition had 62 or 64 children (half boys). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Accuracy for reporting school meals was quantified by calculating rates for omissions (food items observed eaten but unreported) and intrusions (food items reported eaten but unobserved); a measure of total inaccuracy combined errors for reporting food items and amounts. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: For each accuracy measure, analysis of variance was conducted with target period, interview time, their interaction, sex, interviewer, and school year in the model. RESULTS: There was a target-period effect and a target-period by interview-time interaction on omission rates, intrusion rates, and total inaccuracy (six P values <0.004). For prior-24-hour recalls compared to previous-day recalls, and for prior-24-hour recalls in the afternoon and evening compared to previous-day recalls in the afternoon and evening, omission rates were better by one third, intrusion rates were better by one half, and total inaccuracy was better by one third. CONCLUSIONS: To enhance children's dietary recall accuracy, target periods and interview times that minimize the retention interval should be chosen.

Twenty-four hour dietary recalls by fourth-grade children were not influenced by observations of school meals.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether school-meal observations influenced children's 24-hour dietary recalls. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: Over three school years, 555 randomly selected fourth-grade children were interviewed to obtain a 24-hour dietary recall; before being interviewed, 374 children were observed eating two school meals (breakfast, lunch), and 181 children were not observed. Within observation-status groups (observed, unobserved), children were randomized within sex to one of six combinations from two target periods (prior 24 hours, previous day) crossed with three interview times (morning, afternoon, evening). RESULTS: For each of the five variables (interview length, meals/snacks, meal components, items, kilocalories), naïve and adjusted equivalence tests rejected that observation-status groups were different, indicating that school-meal observations did not influence children's 24-hour dietary recalls. There was a target-period effect on length (P<0.0001) (longer for prior-24-hour recalls), a school year effect on length (P=0.0002) (longer for third year), and a target period-interview time interaction on items (P=0.0110) and kilocalories (P=0.0047) (both smaller for previous-day recalls in the afternoon than prior-24-hour recalls in the afternoon and previous-day recalls in the evening), indicating that variables were sufficiently sensitive and psychometrically reliable. CONCLUSION: Conclusions about 24-hour dietary recalls by fourth-grade children observed eating school meals in validation studies are generalizable to 24-hour dietary recalls by comparable but unobserved children in nonvalidation studies.