An interactive internet-based plate for assessing lunchtime food intake: a validation study on male employees.

BackgroundMisreporting food intake is common because most health screenings rely on self-reports. The more accurate methods (eg, weighing food) are costly, time consuming, and impractical.ObjectivesWe developed a new instrument for reporting food intake--an Internet-based interactive virtual food plate. The objective of this study was to validate this instrument's ability to assess lunch intake.MethodsParticipants were asked to compose an ordinary lunch meal using both a virtual and a real lunch plate (with real food on a real plate). The participants ate their real lunch meals on-site. Before and after pictures of the composed lunch meals were taken. Both meals included identical food items. Participants were randomized to start with either instrument. The 2 instruments were compared using correlation and concordance measures (total energy intake, nutritional components, quantity of food, and participant characteristics).ResultsA total of 55 men (median age: 45 years, median body mass index [BMI]: 25.8 kg/m(2)) participated. We found an overall overestimation of reported median energy intake using the computer plate (3044 kJ, interquartile range [IQR] 1202 kJ) compared with the real lunch plate (2734 kJ, IQR 1051 kJ, PConclusionAlthough it slightly overestimated, our computer plate provides promising results in assessing lunch intake.