Technology in dietary assessment

Abstract

Dietary assessment may be described as the science and art of evaluating the dietary intake of individuals or groups for research or as basis for nutrition care(1). While screening and comprehensive assessments have been differentiated(2), both are characterised by phases of varying detail. Data collection and data evaluation are respectively the beginning (input) and endpoint (output). The aim of a particular dietary evaluation will determine the most appropriate tools and techniques in each phase. Using technology should improve at least the efficiency and ideally also the quality of dietary assessments, which are known to be labourintensive and threatened by concerns about validity(3). Many reviews about the use of technology in dietary assessment have been published(4–15). The current invited commentary aims to place these technologies into the context of dietary assessment viewed as a system.