Dietary assessment is a comprehensive evaluation of food consumption at the national, household, and individual level. It provides information about dietary intake patterns and estimates nutrient intake, which is helpful for planning health education activities and understanding food habits and attitudes. Common methods of dietary assessment include food balance sheets, inventories, weighing, 24-hour recalls, food frequency questionnaires, duplicate sampling, expenditure patterns, and diet histories. The 24-hour recall method, which is widely used, involves trained professionals interviewing subjects to recall the types and amounts of food consumed in the last 24 hours. Examples are provided to demonstrate how to quantify intake for various foods and meals in order to estimate calorie and nutrient intake.

1. Dietary Assessment
Presented by-
Dr Garima Gupta
MBBS, MD (Post Graduate Resident)
University College of Medical Sciences and GTB Hospital
Delhi

2. What is Dietary Assessment?
• A dietary assessments is a comprehensive evaluation to assess food
consumption at national level, household level and an individual level.
• It is one of the tool for nutritional status assessment.
NATIONAL LEVEL
HOUSEHOLD
LEVEL
INDIVIDUAL
LEVEL

3. Objectives Of Dietary Assessment
It provides information about dietary intake patterns.
It also provides information about estimate nutrient intakes.
It is helpful in planning health education activities.
It also provides information about food habit and attitudes.

4. Methods of dietary assessment
Food balance sheet method.
Inventory method.
Weighment method
 24 hr Recall method
Food Frequency Questionnaire method (FFQ Method)
Duplicate Sample / Chemical analysis method .
Expenditure pattern method .
Diet History .

5. 24 Hour Dietary Recall Method
• This is the most widely used method where subjects are interviewed
by trained professionals to recall the kinds and the amount of food
consumed during the last 24 hours

6. Enlist all the family members who partook the meals yesterday.
Their completed age (in years for adults, in months for infants and young
children).
Their physiological status (pregnancy, lactation).
Occupation- sedentary, moderate, heavy.
This helps to arrive adult consumption units.
Housewife/individual is asked which food and what amounts were
consumed on previous day or yesterday
Avoid 3 F –
• Festival
• Fast
• Feast days

7. Grocer’s balance

10. Example-1 : A cup of Tea
• 1 Cup of tea = 150 ml ( half milk and half water)
• Total calories = 87.75 + 20 = 107.75 kcal
CONSTITUENTS QUANTITY CALORIES/100 gm CALORIES (kcal)
Buffalo milk 75 ml 117 87.75
Water 75 ml 0 0
1 TSF sugar 5 gm 400 20

11. Example-2: Two Chapatti
• Ask how much wheat flour she takes and how many chapattis are
made. Eg- In 1 Kg Flour she makes 40 Chapattis; 1 Chapatti will be
prepared in 25gm flour appx.
• 100 gm of Wheat flour – 340 Kcal
• 25 gm wheat flour for one chapatti will have- 340 * 25/100 = 85 kcal
• 2 chapattis = 85*2= 170 kcal
• If she uses 1 teaspoon ghee ; 1 ml ghee= 9 kcal ; 5 ml ghee= 45 kcal
• Total = 170 + 45 = 215 kcal

12. Example-3: Vegetable (Aaloo-Gobhi Vegetable)
• If in a 5 membered family, 1 Kg aaloo, 1 Kg Gobhi and 10 ml oil is used
for preparation of a vegetable, then per member its 200 gm aaloo, 200
gm gobhi and 2 ml oil.
Total calories = 194 + 60 + 18 = 272 kcal
CONSTITUENT QUANTITY CALORIES/100 gm CALORIES (kcal)
Potato 200 gm 97 194
Cauliflower 200 gm 30 60
Oil 2 ml 900 18

13. Advantages:
Low respondent burden
Easy in administration
Minimization of biases associated with altering food intake because
of knowledge that one is being observed.
Limitations:
 Recall bias
 Misreporting
 Need for a trained observer to administer

14. Thankyou