Environmental influences on methods used to collect dietary data from children

Abstract

When collecting dietary data on children, confidence about responses is required. Children exist in multienvironments in their everyday lives, eg, the personal, school, home, peer, medical care, media, food industry, and fast-food facility environments. These macroenvironments influence the format and type of data-collection methods used to interview today's youth. Researchers should identify the influence of each environment on the child's eating pattern and nutrient intake, explore the pros and cons of various data-collection methods amid these environments, and determine unresolved methodological issues to stimulate future research. Standardized protocols for interviewing children, exclusion criteria for surrogate responses, and currency of nutrient data for new food products available to children are needed. Redefining our methods by understanding the macroenvironments of youth can create a dietary methodology for the 21st century—an evolutionary method that builds on past research and incorporates current technology and societal changes.