Efficiency of the 24-hour food recall instrument for assessing nutrient intake before and after Roux-en-Y gastric bypass.

BACKGROUND Nutritional and food intake assessments before and after bariatric surgery may be important to correct eating habits and nutritional deficiencies. AIM To assess the efficiency of the 24-hour food recall (24hR) form as a fast method for assessing nutrient intake before and after a Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGB). METHODS This study analyzed data from 10 obese patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Food intake (calories, macronutrients, and micronutrients) before and 3 months after RYGB were assessed with the 24hR as well as the seven-day food record (7dR) as the gold standard reference. Virtual Nutri Plus® software was used to quantify nutrients. RESULTS The 7dR data revealed deficits in the estimated intake of total fiber and 14 out of 22 micronutrients pre- and postoperatively, combined; the 24hR failed to detect intake deficits in only two of these micronutrients (vitamins A and B3). Other postoperative deficits included carbohydrates, vitamin B1, copper, and iron, on which the 24hR was sensitive to only the iron deficit. In our pre- versus post-operative comparison analyses, the 7dR revealed decreases in total calories, carbohydrates, total and all subclasses of fat and fiber, and 12 micronutrients; in the analogous comparison analyses, the 24hR failed to detect decreases in the ingestion of monounsaturated and saturated fats and in six of these micronutrients. CONCLUSIONS In obese T2DM patients, the 24hR performed reasonably well for probing nutrient intake before and after RYGB, but is not recommended for tracking changes over time, including pre- versus postoperative deficits.