Validity of self-reported lunch recalls in Swedish school children aged 6-8 years

Background: Previous studies have suggested that young children are inaccurate reporters of dietary intake. The purpose of this study was to validate a single recall of the previous day's school lunch reported by 6-8 year old Swedish children and to assess teacher-recorded intake of the same meal in a standardized food journal. An additional research question was whether parents could report their child's intake of the previous day's lunch. Subjects constituted a convenience sample from the large, multi-country study Identification and prevention of Dietary-and lifestyle-induced health EFfects In Children and infantS (IDEFICS). Validations of both children's recalls and teachers' records were made by comparing results with the duplicate plate reference method. Findings: Twenty-five children (12 boys/13 girls) aged 6-8 years participated in the validation study at one school in western Sweden. Children were accurate self-reporters of their dietary intake at lunch, with no significant difference between reported and weighed intake (Mean difference (SD): 7(50) kcals, p=0.49). Teachers significantly over-reported intake (Mean difference (SD): 65(79) kcals, p=0.01). For both methods, child-reported and teacher-recorded, correlations with weighed intake were strong (Pearson's correlations r=0.92, p<0.001 and r=0.83, p