VALIDITY OF FOOD-INTAKE MEASUREMENT OF ADULT TURKISH IMMIGRANTS IN THE NETHERLANDS

Objective: To study the validity of the reported food intake in a study which was designed to assess exposure to dioxins from food sources. Design: Repeated diet recalls were used to collect food intake data within a period of four months. Data on energy intake were related to computed basal metabolic rate (BMR). Setting and subjects: A group of 69 Turkish immigrants (30 men and 39 women aged 18-59 years) from two municipalities in the Eastern part of the Netherlands, whose selected basic socio-demographic characteristics reflect those of adult Turkish living in the Netherlands. Results and conclusions: A mean energy intake (EI) to BMR ratio of 1.32 for women (mean EI = 8.1 MJ/day) and 1.36 for men (mean EI = 10.6 MJ/day) was found. Subjects in the lower and upper tertile of EI/BMR ratio differed only in body mass index (BMI: kg/m(2)). Pearson's correlation coefficient between EI/BMR and BMI was -0.39 (P < 0.05). The observed high prevalence of obesity in adult Turkish people complicates, as in other cultures, an accurate asssessment of food intake. Sponsorship: Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries. Descriptors: contaminants, dietary intake, food, immigrants, Turkish, validity