Energy balance
U.S. nutritional surveillance data from NHANES (1971–2010) systematically underreports caloric energy intake, rendering population-level trends in caloric consumption invalid for public health policy.
Do not rely on self-reported dietary recalls (like 24-hour recalls) to track population-level calorie trends or to guide broad public health policies. The data is systematically flawed by underreporting, especially for high-calorie foods. For individual tracking, be aware that you are likely underreporting by ~10-18% of your total expenditure, and this bias increases with higher BMI.
These results are indicative of significant underreporting... The confluence of these results and other methodological limitations suggest that the ability to estimate population trends in caloric intake and generate empirically supported public policy relevant to diet-health relationships from U.S. nutritional surveillance is extremely limited.
Why this rating
Large sample size (n=63,362), longitudinal span (39 years), and use of objective physiological metrics (BMR, TEE).
Source
Validity of U.S. Nutritional Surveillance: National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey Caloric Energy Intake Data, 1971–2010
Edward Archer et al. · PLoS ONE · 2013
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0076632
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