Validation of the 24-hour dietary recall in preschool children

The accurate assessment of dietary intake in children is extremely important because coronary artery disease and hypertension originate in early childhood, obesity in childhood predicts obesity in adulthood, and obesity interventions have produced highly disappointing results. Because of the chronological age of the preschool child, however, a parent or guardian must respond to dietary interviews or complete food records about the child's food consumption. An adult who recalls the child's intake is more knowledgeable about specific brands, types of fat, and cooking procedures than a child. The adult still must ask the child about snack intake and actual amount of foods and beverages consumed. Unfortunately, data collected to date indicate that parents cannot reliably report their children's between meal consumption. Also, variation from day to day in children's food intake is a very frequent research finding. The current study attempted to validate parental reports of preschoolers' food intake using a criterion reference of food weighing. Second, we sought to determine the day-to-day variability in parents' reports of their children's intake.