1. Determination of intra- and inter-individual variability and its effect on the number of days required to assess the usual intake of a 1-year-old infant population
- Author
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M T Ortisi, Roberto Bellù, Marcello Giovannini, and Elisabetta Riva
- Subjects
Male ,Time Factors ,Calorie ,Epidemiology ,Population ,Individuality ,Margin of error ,Nutrient ,Animal science ,Humans ,Medicine ,Food science ,education ,Analysis of Variance ,education.field_of_study ,business.industry ,Significant difference ,Infant ,Nutrition Surveys ,Diet Records ,Calorie intake ,Food record ,Italy ,Pediatrics, Perinatology and Child Health ,Female ,Infant Food ,Energy Intake ,Energy Metabolism ,business ,Dietary Cholesterol - Abstract
Summary. Diet variability influences the accuracy of the assessment of the relationship between nutrient intake and disease. The present study investigates intra- and inter-individual variability in an infant population at 12 months. The mothers of 79 infants completed a 7-day weighted food record. No significant difference in nutrient intake was observed between males and females. For some nutrients an intra-/inter-individual variability ratio < 1 was found. Adjustment for total calorie intake slightly altered the intra-/inter-individual variability ratio of many nutrients. An error margin of 10% or less for calories can be expected within an 18-day study. Most nutrients however would need to be studied for over 30 days to give an error margin ≤10%. For dietary cholesterol, vitamins A, B6, C, and E, bracketing the error within the 10% margin would require an unrealistic time frame. Adjustments for calorie intake reduced the number of days in the dietary record for some nutrients. A lower intra/inter-individual variability ratio was seen when data for adults and older infants were compared.
- Published
- 1995
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