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Assessment of Dietary Intake

Introduction

Nutrition & its Importance

Existence of life has been dependent on energy that is produced through combustion of nutrients

present in food. The utilization of energy leads to metabolism, growth, prevention from diseases, repair of

the body cells, etc. Hence, every function of body is conditional to presence of energy via food. This has

been beautifully articulated in scientific terms as “The study of nutrients in food, how the body uses them,

and the relationship between diet, health, and disease” (Newman 2020).

Food has two components i.e. nutrients and non-nutrient. Nutrients can be further categorized as

macronutrients (carbohydrates, proteins, fats, etc.) and micronutrients like glucose, amino acids, fatty acids,

vitamins, minerals, etc. Nutrients serve as raw material for cells of body where as non-nutrient can serve

both beneficial and non-beneficial purposes. Therefore, excess intake of food or eating less than required

amount of food, both, can be challenging for the body (Chen et al 2018). Food in excess could cause stress

on parts of cells that produce energy and less amount would result in malfunctioning of those components.

For example, taking too much fats in the diet could lead to cardiovascular diseases (Posner et al, 1991), some

specific amino acids have proved to be associated with cell growth and proliferation (Sabatini 2017) and

glucose may induce insulin tolerance (Robertson, 2004). Hence, it is highly important that the nutritional

intake of a human should be assessed so that.

Nutritional Assessment in US

Dietary nutritional requirements of individuals are based on multiple factors like age, gender and

lifestyle i.e., how active the person is. In US, people are recommended nutritional intake keeping the above-

mentioned factors under consideration. These are called Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) issued by

National Academy of Science (Kesari A et al 2022). Dietary Intakes are assessed using Automated Multiple-

Pass Method (AMPM). It is an extension of 24- hour dietary recall method which was used in US since 1965
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for this purpose. The data when logged in to a computer system generated AMPM method (Raper 2004).

This was successfully done for the first time in 1988 (McDowell et al 1989). This system is still in place and

is used for gauging the health index of populations. The health index correlates to the incidence of food

related diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, fatty liver, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and many other

that regulate changes at genetic level. The AMPM has a data base which is utilized by Food and Nutrient

Data base for Dietary Studies (FNDDS) to assess trends and patterns in the nutrition and dietary intake of the

populations. However, the accuracy of this database is ongoing and its validity has been proven through a

study (Raper 2004).

24 Hour Recall Method

Day 1:

Name: Date (today): Monday

Address: Date of the day subject to the 24-hour recall:

03.06.2023
Town:
Name of the day subject to the 24-hour recall: Sunday

Place of consumption Time Description of food items and drinks, Quantity

give the brand if possible

Big Mac Meal from McDonalds – Regular

1 burger with cheese +
Home 01:30 a.m. – Big Mac Burger with cheese, coke and
240 ml coke
fries
One bowl of milk (Organic Valley whole
Home 08:30 a.m. 250ml + 3 tablespoon
milk) and Oreo’s cereals
On way to College 09:00 a.m. Regular cappuccino from Starbucks 220 ml

College 02:00 p.m. Pasta with bacon + orange juice One cup + 240ml

Cafe 05:00 p.m. Starbucks Brownie + Frappuccino 1 + 220ml

Home 09:00 p.m. Mac and cheese 1 cup

Home 10:00 p.m. Coke Can 200ml

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Day 2:

Name: Date (today): Thursday

Address: Date of the day subject to the 24-hour recall: 03.09.23

Town: Name of the day subject to the 24-hour recall:

Wednesday

Place of consumption Time Description of food items and drinks, Quantity

give the brand if possible

Home 02:30 a.m. Mac and cheese + coke can 1 cup + 200ml
Scrambled eggs + chocolate croissant +
Home 08:30 a.m. 2 + 1 + 220 ml
cappuccino
College 01:30 p.m. Grilled cheese sandwich + Gatorade 1 + 591ml

On way Home 04:30 p.m. Doritos 1 pack of 224g

Home 08:00 p.m. Grilled chicken steak + baked potatoes 1 serving

Home 10:00 p.m. Chocolate Shake - McDonalds medium

Analysis of the 24-Hour Recall Method:

Day 1:

Macronutrients Micronutrients
Carbohydrate Protein Fat Energy Iron Vit A Ca
Occasion Food items g g g Cal mg mcg Mg
Big Mac
Burger with
Late Night cheese, 144g 30g 45g 1080 5.5mg 0mcg 137mg
Meal coke and
fries
One bowl of 0mcg
8g + 0mg + 260mg +
Breakfast milk and 12g + 25g 8g + 1g 150 +
1.5g 24mg 0mg
cereals 0mcg
Regular
Snack one cappuccino 14g 9g 5g 140 0mg 0mcg 148.8mg
from
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Starbucks

Pasta with 0mcg

16.3g + 10.4g+ 357.9 + 6.3mg 383mg +
Lunch bacon + 56.2g + 26g +
2g 0g 110 + 0mg 350mg
orange juice 0mcg

Starbucks 0mcg
28g + 480 + 0mg + 0 mg +
Snack two Brownie + 55g + 53g 6g + 9g +
5g 290 0mg 322mg
Frappuccino 0mcg

Mac and
Diner 23g 7g 5g 164 2.2mg 0mcg 160.7mg
cheese

Snack Coke Can 65g 0g 0g 240 0mg 0mcg 0mg

three
TOTAL 473.2g 88.3g 107.9g 3011.9 38mg 0mcg 1761.5
mg

Day 2:

Macronutrients Micronutrients
Carbohydrate Protein Fat Energy Iron Vit A Ca
Occasion Food items g G g Cal mg mcg mg
Mac and 0mcg
164 + 2.2mg 160.7mg
Late Night cheese + 23g + 65g 7g + 0g 5g + 0g +
240 + 0mg + 0mg
Meal coke can 0mcg
Scrambled 196.4
1.6mg
eggs + 12.2g + 13.4g + 182 + mcg+ 80mg+
+
Breakfast chocolate 2g + 33g + 14g 5.7g + 16g + 297 + 0mcg 41mg +
1.5mg
croissant + 9g 5g 140 + 148.8mg
+ 0mg
cappuccino 0mcg

Snack one No Snack - - - - - - -

Grilled 2.2mg
0mcg
cheese 12g + 23g + 366 + + 647mg +
Lunch 28g + 36g +
sandwich + 0g 0g 140 0.12m 2.48mg
0mcg
Gatorade g

Snack two Doritos 136g 16.8g 62.4g 1176 2.6mg 0mcg 312mg
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Grilled
chicken 0.8mg 0mcg
57g + 6.5g + 284 + 12mg +
Diner steak + 0g + 37g + +
4.3g 0.2g 161 26 mg
baked 1.9mg 0mcg
potatoes
Chocolate
Snack Shake - 104g 14g 17g 630 0.5mg 0mcg 500mg
three McDonalds
TOTAL 478g 138g 178.5g 3680 13.42 196.4 1929.98
mg mcg mg

Summary of the Two Days:

Mean of intakes
Macronutrients Micronutrients
Carbohydrate Protein Fat Energy Iron Vitamin A Calcium
1845.74
475.6g 113.15g 143.2g 3345.95 25.71mg 98.2 mcg
Means mg

I have consumed approximately 3346 calories on average in two days of the week I chose for the 24 –

hour recall method. My intake of macronutrients in grams is 475.6g of carbohydrates, 113.15g of proteins and

143.2g of fats. 64.9% of the calories came from carbohydrates, a5.5% from proteins and fats contributed

19.6% of the total calories. I met, infect exceeded, the daily recommendations of the macronutrients i.e.

carbohydrates, proteins and fats as suggested by DRIs of Canada. It is 130g carbohydrates and 46g proteins for

my age group. I consumed 25.71mg of iron, 98.2mcg of Vitamin A and 1845.7 mg of calcium.
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My Plate according to Canadian Food Guide

Fruits and vegetables Flours and grains Meat Processed foods

My food intake does not involve fruits and vegetables except the orange juice I consume. As far as

grains are concerned my diet includes flour. I rely on fast foods like burgers, shakes and brownies. Hence, I

need to change my lifestyle and food choices.

Conclusion:

First and foremost, I learnt that I need to change my lifestyle and make wiser choices if I want my health

not to deteriorate because if I continue eating at this pace and choices, I have higher risk of developing cardiovascular

disease. Moreover, the most difficult part was to find the macronutrients and micronutrients from the Canadian

website as I was not aware of the food codes so I struggled there but then I figured them out.
References
 Newman, Tim. What Is Nutrition, and Why Does It Matter? 2022,

https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/160774.

 Chen, Yiheng, et al. ‘Importance of Nutrients and Nutrient Metabolism on Human

Health’. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, vol. 91, no. 2, June 2018, pp. 95–

103, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29955217.

 Posner, B. M., et al. ‘Dietary Lipid Predictors of Coronary Heart Disease in Men. The

Framingham Study’. Archives of Internal Medicine, vol. 151, no. 6, American Medical

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America, vol. 114, no. 45, Nov. 2017, pp. 11818–11825,

https://doi.org10.1073/pnas.1716173114.

 Robertson, R. Paul. ‘Chronic Oxidative Stress as a Central Mechanism for Glucose

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https://doi.org10.1074/jbc.R400019200.

 Kesari, Aditi, and Julia Y. Noel. Nutritional Assessment. StatPearls Publishing, 2022,

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK580496/.

 Raper, Nancy, et al. ‘An Overview of USDA’s Dietary Intake Data System’. Journal of

Food Composition and Analysis: An Official Publication of the United Nations

University, International Network of Food Data Systems, vol. 17, no. 3–4, Elsevier BV,

June 2004, pp. 545–555, https://doi.org10.1016/j.jfca.2004.02.013.

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 Mcdowell, M., et al. ‘The Dietary Data Collection System-an Automated Interview and

Coding System for NHANES III’. Proceedings of the Fourteenth National Nutrient

Databank Conference, 1989, pp. 125–129.