Evaluation of the Food And Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies for use with a mobile telephone food record

The development of a mobile telephone food record (mpFR) in which image analysis and volume estimation data can be indexed with the Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) has the potential to improve the accuracy of dietary assessment. To validate the mpFR for use with adolescents, a convenience sample of adolescents, aged 11–18 years, was recruited to eat all meals and snacks in a controlled feeding environment over a 24-h period. Each food item matched a food code in the FNDDS 3.0. The objective of this analysis was to compare the measured energy and protein content of foods to the published values in the FNDDS. Duplicate plates of all meals and snacks were prepared, and samples of 20 foods were individually weighed, homogenized, freeze dried, and analyzed for energy with a bomb calorimeter and for protein with a Dumas nitrogen analyzer. Eleven of the twenty food items had energy values in the FNDDS within ±10% of the measured energy value. The measured energy and protein values from all foods correlated significantly with the energy (r = 0.981, P < 0.01) and protein (r = 0.911, P < 0.01) values in the FNDDS. These results support the use of the FNDDS with the mpFR.

► Measured protein and energy content from duplicate plates were compared with published values from the US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies (FNDDS). ► The results showed statistically significant correspondence between the measured energy and protein values and the published values in FNDDS. ► Carefully selected foods to represent food codes in the FNDDS will likely translate to accurate estimates for comparison with biomarkers.