Author(s)

Wassan A. Ahmed, Waleed Al-Murrani, Gail A. Rees

School of Biomedical and Biological Sciences, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK.

Previous studies have shown that underreporting of energy intake is common when assessing dietary intake, particularly in the overweight and obese. The aim of this study was to obtain an estimate of energy and macronutrient intake according to weight status and to investigate underreporting among Iraqi people living in the UK. Twenty eight adult volunteers (n = 16 males) were recruited. Dietary intake was estimated 3 times using the 24 hour dietary recall tech-nique. Portion size was estimated using household measures and the Photographic Atlas of Food Portion Sizes. Energy and macronutrients estimations were calculated, and weight and height were measured to calculate Body Mass Index (BMI). Energy intake was compared to estimated basal metabolic rate (BMR) and the Goldberg equation was used to assess underreporting. Of the overall sample, 57.1% (n = 16) and 21.4% (n = 6) subjects were overweight and obese, respectively. The mean energy intakes were low for males (1977 kcal/d) and females (1586 kcal/d). The percentage of under-reporters was high (57.1%) and this was higher in overweight and obese subjects (68.1%) compared to those of normal weight (4.5%). Overweight and obesity are common among well-educated Iraqi people. Underreporting of energy intake is common especially among overweight and obese Iraqi individuals.

Energy; Obesity; Body Mass Index; Culture; Dietary Assessment

W. Ahmed, W. Al-Murrani and G. Rees, "Underreporting of Energy Intake in Iraqi People Living in the UK According to Body Weight," Food and Nutrition Sciences, Vol. 3 No. 3, 2012, pp. 317-321. doi: 10.4236/fns.2012.33046.