Obese individuals do not underreport dietary intake to a greater extent than nonobese individuals when data are allometrically-scaled

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the extent of misreporting in obese and nonobese adults on an absolute, ratio-scaled, and allometrically-scaled basis. Method: Self-reported daily energy intake (EI) was compared with total energy expenditure (TEE) in 221 adults (106 male, 115 female; age 53 ± 17 years, stature 1.68 ± 0.09 m, mass 79.8 ± 17.2 kg) who participated in a doubly-labeled water (DLW) subsection of 2013–2015 National Diet and Nutrition Survey. Data were log transformed and expressed as absolute values, according to simple ratio-standards (per kg body mass) and adjusted for body mass allometrically. Absolute and ratio-scaled misreporting were examined using full-factorial General Linear Models with repeated measures of the natural logarithms of TEE or EI as the within-subjects factor. The natural logarithm of body mass was included as a covariate in the allometric method. The categorical variables of gender, age, obesity, and physical activity level (PAL) were the between-factor variables. Results: On an absolute-basis, self-reported EI (2759 ± 590 kcal·d−1) was significantly lower than TEE measured by DLW (2759 ± 590 kcal·d−1: F1,205 = 598.81, p 1.75; F1,205 = 34.15, p