Prevalence and determinants of misreporting of energy intake among Latin American populations: results from ELANS study.

Underreporting and overreporting of energy intake (EI) have been recognized as potential sources of bias. Dietary data mainly rely on proxy respondents, but little is known about the determinants of misreporting of EI among Latin American (LA) populations. This study was conducted using data from the multicenter Latin American Study of Nutrition and Health that consisted of information about sociodemographics, physical activity, and dietary intake from 9218 individuals aged 15 to 65 years who were living in urban areas in 8 LA countries (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Peru, and Venezuela). Goldberg methodology was applied to classify the participants into categories of overreporter (OR), plausible reporter (PR), or underreporter (UR) of EI. Associations between misreporting and covariates were examined by the Kruskal-Wallis test, logistic regression, and linear regression. The prevalence of UR was 12.1% and OR was 14.1%. Costa Rica had the highest percentage of UR (24.4%) and the lowest of OR (7.3%), and Colombia had the lowest of UR (5.7%) and the highest of OR (22.4%). Furthermore, underreporters were more likely to be females from older groups with minimal education, white, physically active, overweight or obese, and living in Costa Rica. Overreporters were more likely to be younger, single, of low socioeconomic level, nonwhite, physically active, underweight or with normal weight, and from Colombia. The results demonstrated that sex, age, race, education status, and nationality seemed to influence the reporting behavior, which is essential to correctly interpreting potentially biased associations between diet and health outcomes, and improving nutritional interventions and public health policies.

Can coca leaves contribute to improving the nutritional status of the Andean population?

BACKGROUND: Coca leaves (Erythroxylum coca) have been promoted as a food that could address the dietary deficiencies of the Andean population, but this is based on nutrient analyses of a small sample of leaves. OBJECTIVE: We assessed the nutritional potential of eight samples of coca leaves grown in different regions of Peru. METHODS: We used AOAC techniques to measure nutrients, nutrient inhibitors (phytate, polyphenols, oxalic acid, and fiber), and alkaloid concentrations, all expressed per 100 g dry weight (DW) of the ground leaves. Minerals were measured by inductively coupled lasma- mass spectrometry in n twondependent laboratories. RESULTS: The leaves contained protein, , 20.28 g/1 0DW with lysine as the limiting amino acid; n-cbetarotene, 3.51 mg/100gDW ; vitamin E, 16.72 mg/100gDW ; trace amounts of vitamin D; calcium, 990.18 and 1033.17 mg/100 gDW at two different laboratories; iron, 29.16 and 29.16 mg/100 gDW; zinc, 2.71 and 2.63 mg/100 gDW; and magnesium, 225.19 and 196.69 mg/l001gDW Cocaine was the principal alkaloid, with a concentration of 0.56 g/100 gDW; other alkaloids were also identified. The results were compared with those for other edible leaves. The nutrient contributions of coca powder (5 g) and bread made with coca were compared with those of normal portions of alternative foods. CONCLUSIONS: Two spoonfuls of coca leaf flour would satisfy less than 10% of dietary intakes for schoolchildren and adults for critical commonly deficient nutrients in the diet. Coca leaves do not provide nutritional benefits when eaten in the recommended quantities, and the presence of absorbable cocaine and other alkaloids may be potentially harmful; hence coca leaves cannot be recommended as a food.