Under-reporting of energy and nutrient intake is a persistent issue in the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Surveys

Introduction: Under-reporting of energy intake is a common cause of bias in nutritional studies. This study was aimed at examining the extent of underreporting of energy intake and its related characteristics among respondents in the Malaysian Adult Nutrition Survey (MANS) 2003 and MANS 2014. Methods: The present study analysed energy intakes of 9,624 adults aged 18-59 years from the MANS in year 2014 (2,890 respondents) and 2003 (6,734 respondents) using a single 24-hour diet recall. Basal metabolic rates (BMR) were calculated from the age- and gender-specific equations of Schofield. Under-reporting was defined as an energy intake:BMR ratio of