Meals and energy intake among elderly women -: An analysis of qualitative and quantitative dietary assessment methods

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyse whether a qualitative method, in relation to traditional dietary assessment methods, was adequate to establish sufficient energy intake and energy content in separate meals in a population of elderly women. Methods: One hundred and thirty-five elderly women, aged 63-88 years, living at home from three communities in mid-eastern Sweden participated in the present study. The quantitative methods used were a combination of repeated 24-h recall and a 3-day estimated food diary. The qualitative method used was the Food-Based Classification of Eating episodes model (FBCE). Results: The mean intake of energy estimated by the 5-day registration was 6.8+/-1.9 MJ. The total number of eating events was 5.22+/-1.04 per day. On a group level, FBCE was useful to describe the diet among a group of elderly women; however, on an individual level, some complete meals were low or very low in energy, due to small portion sizes. Conclusion: The main conclusion was that a qualitative method, such as FBCE, must be supplemented with a dietary assessment method giving the energy intake to ensure that it is sufficient, especially when studying groups at risk for malnutrition.