Over- and underreporting of energy intake by patients with metabolic syndrome using an automated dietary assessment website

Underand overreporting of dietary intake in a face-to-face context is related to age, gender and body mass index. The use of computer technology in dietetic practice is restricted to analysis of nutrient data rather than assessment of the diet. DietAdvice, a website developed to allow patients with metabolic syndrome to selfreport their dietary intake, has been developed in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. Patients are recruited by their general practitioner, and use the website, and the data are electronically fed to a dietitian for an individualised dietary prescription. The aim of the present study is to describe the reporting status of patients using a pilot test of the website from November 2004 to October 2005, and determine relationships to body mass index, gender and age. Reported energy intake (EI) was compared with predicted basal metabolic rate (BMR). Patients were classified as underreporting if EI : BMR 2.4. Chi-square and ordinal regression analyses were used to determine relationships to patient characteristics. Two hundred patients were recruited, of whom 57 had missing data or did not complete the assessment. Of the remaining 143 patients, 32.3% underreported their intakes, 21.7% overreported their intakes, and 46.2% were on target with their reporting. No relationships were found for age, gender or body mass index. Findings suggest that computerised dietary assessment may encourage patients to report with less bias than in a verbal dietary assessment when compared with the literature.