The second issue, related to dietary methods in general, is the potential under-reporting of intakes [ 35].
Under-/over reporting of food intake is common among adolescents [ 45, 46]; therefore, obtaining information on food intakes by self-reporting in children and adolescents is difficult.
These near identical values reveal the potential of the application of automated image-capture systems to supplement reporting of energy intake.
It is well established however that under reporting of energy intake is widespread in overweight/obese populations [ 28, 29] and could have occurred here.
The aim of the calibration study was to adjust for systematic differences in reporting of dietary intakes across countries due to different populations and different instruments [ 14].
In subjects with high levels of alcohol use (either before the event or who reported habitual high levels of intake), reported number of units of alcohol consumed during specific periods is unlikely to be accurate [ 34].
Under-reporting of food intake and selective under-reporting or under-eating of foods perceived to be 'bad' are commonly documented, especially in people who are obese.
Though these higher intakes of nutrients could possibly be explained by the expected over-reporting of nutrient intake as noted in the validation study for the FFQ used.
However, there are no previous reports of dietary intake for comparison of the findings from this study and for assessing how dietary intake has changed recently.
Understanding the relationship between high-calorie beverage consumption and weight gain requires an accurate report of dietary intake.
Children providing nonplausible reports of dietary intake were deleted from the analyses.
