Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Original Communication
  • Published:

An evaluation of a colour food photography atlas as a tool for quantifying food portion size in epidemiological dietary surveys

European Journal of Clinical Nutrition volume 59, pages 923–931 (2005)Cite this article

Abstract

Objective:

To test the validity of a colour food photography atlas for quantifying portion size eaten compared with weighed foods.

Design:

The colour food photography atlas was prepared by cooking, weighing and taking digital photographs of three portion sizes of 434 foods and beverages typical of the Italian diet.

Subjects and interventions:

In all, 448 male and female volunteers aged 6–60 y from a wide variety of social backgrounds completed 9075 assessments of food portions eaten at lunch and dinner in relation to a set of colour food photographs during 8 weeks of investigation. The amounts of foods eaten by individuals in five different cafeterias in Pavia, Northern Italy, were weighed by trained investigators at the time of serving and, within 5–10 min of the end of the meal, each subject was asked to quantify all foods consumed with reference to one of the three food photographs or in terms of virtual portions among those shown in the photographs.

Results:

Multiple regression analysis shows that weights of portion sizes chosen from the set of photographs are significantly associated (P<0.05) to weights of eaten portions (β=0.81; R2=0.70) and are independent of age, gender and BMI. The differences between mean weights of the portions chosen by individuals from photographs and mean weights of eaten foods are significant for all food categories (P<0.05), except for bread. However, because of the very large number of observations, the mean differences are very small (range: from +23.2 g (+11.2%) for first courses to −1.3 g (−2.7%) for bread). Bland–Altman plots show that first courses limits of agreement are wide because the dispersion is increasing while weights are rising.

Conclusions:

The use of a series of three photographs and virtual portion sizes being associated with relatively small errors, our findings support the validity of using this colour food photography atlas as a tool for quantifying food portion size in epidemiological dietary surveys on different age groups of Italian subjects.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bandini LG, Schoeller DA, Cyr HN & Dietz WH (1990): Validity of reported intake in obese and non obese adolescents. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 52, 421–425.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Bland JM & Altman DJ (1986): Statistical methods for assessing agreement between two methods of clinical measurements. Lancet 8 feb, 307–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Byers T, Marshall J, Fiedler R, Zielezny M & Graham S (1985): Assessing nutrient intake with an abbreviated dietary interview. Am. J. Epidemiol. 122, 41–49.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chu SY, Kolonel LN, Hankin JH & Lee J (1984): A comparison of frequency and quantitative dietary methods for epidemiologic studies of diet and disease. Am. J. Epidemiol. 119, 323–333.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Cole TJ, Bellizzi MC, Flegal KM & Dietz WH (2000): Establishing a standard definition for child overweight and obesity worldwide: international survey. Br. Med. J. 320, 1240–1243.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Edington J, Thorogood M, Geekie M, Ball M & Mann J (1989): Assessment of nutritional intake using dietary records with estimated weights. J. Hum. Nutr. Diet. 2, 407–414.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faggiano F, Vineis P, Cravanzola D, Pisani P, Xompero G, Riboli E & Kaaks R (1992): Validation of a method for the estimation of food portion size. Epidemiology 3, 379–382.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guthrie HA (1984): Selection and quantification of typical food portions by young adults. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 12, 1440–1444.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hankin JH, Wilkins LR, Kolonel LN & Yoshizawa CN (1991): Validation of quantitative diet history method in Hawaii. Am. J. Epidemiol. 133, 616–628.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hultén B, Bengtsson C & Isaksson B (1990): Some error inherent in a longitudinal dietary survey revealed by the urine nitrogen test. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 44, 169–174.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lee P & Cunningham K (1990): Irish National Nutrition Survey. Dublin: Irish Nutrition and Dietetics Institute.

    Google Scholar 

  • Linee Guida per una Sana Alimentazione Italiana (2003): Ministero delle Politiche Agricole e Forestali. Istituto Nazionale di Ricerca per gli Alimenti e la Nutrizione, Revisione 2003.www.inran.it/LG2003.htm.

  • Morgan S, Flint DM, Prinsley ML, Wahlqvist ML & Parish AE (1982): Measurement of food intake in the elderly by food photography. Proc. Nutr. Soc. Aus. 7, 172.

    Google Scholar 

  • Navarro A, Cristaldo PE, Diaz MP & Eynard AR (2000): Food photography atlas: its suitability for quantifying food and nutrient consumption in nutritional epidemiological research in Cordoba, Argentina. Rev. Fac. Cien. Med. Univ. Nac. Cordoba 57, 67–74.

    CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson M, Atkinson M & Darbyshire S (1994): Food photography I: the perception of food portion size from photographs. Br. J. Nutr. 72, 649–663.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson M, Atkinson M & Darbyshire S (1996): Food photography II: use of food photographs for estimating portion size and the nutrient of meals. Br. J. Nutr. 76, 31–49.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pietinen P, Hartman AM, Haapa E, Rasanen L, Haapakoski J, Palmgren J, Albanes D, Virtamo J & Huttunen JK (1988a): Reproducibility and validity of dietary assessment instruments. I. A self-administrated food use questionnaire with a portion size picture booklet. Am. J. Epidemiol. 128, 655–666.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pietinen P, Hartman AM, Haapa E, Rasanen L, Haapakoski J, Palmgren J, Albanes D, Virtamo J & Huttunen JK (1988b): Reproducibility and validity of dietary assessment instruments.II. A qualitative food frequency questionnaire. Am. J. Epidemiol. 128, 667–676.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Prentice AM, Black AE, Coward WA, Davies HL, Goldberg GR & Murgatroyd PR (1986): High levels of energy expenditure in obese women. Br. Med. J. 292, S983–S987.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Prentice AM, Black AE, Murgatroyd PR, Goldberg GR & Coward WA (1989): Metabolism or appetite: questions of energy balance with particular reference to obesity. J. Hum. Nutr. and Diet. 2, 95–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robson PJ & Livingstone MBE (1999): An evaluation of food photographs as a tool for quantifying food and nutrient intakes. Public Health Nutr. 3, 183–192.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rutishauser IHE (1982): Food models, photographs or household measures? Proc. Nutr. Soc. Aus. 7, 144–145.

    Google Scholar 

  • Samet JM, Humble CG & Skipper BE (1984): Alternatives in the collection and analysis of food frequency interview data. Am. J. Epidemiol. 120, 572–581.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Tjonneland A, Overvad K, Haraldsdottir J, Bang S, Ewertz M & Jenson OM (1991): Validation of a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire developed in Denmark. Int. J. Epidemiol. 20, 906–912.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Turconi G, Camera E, Bazzano R, Bertoli S, Carolei A, Cena H & Lanzola E (1999): Confronto del diario alimentare autocompilato e del diario di attività fisica con il dispendio energetico stimato in soggetti sovrappeso ed obesi. La Clin. Dietol. 27, 149–153.

    Google Scholar 

  • Turrini A, Saba A, Perrone D, Cialfa E & D'Amicis A (2001): Food consumption patterns in Italy: the INN-CA Study 1994–1996. Eur. J. Clin. Nutr. 55, 571–588.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williamson DA, Allen HR, Martin PD, Alfonso AJ, Gerald B & Hunt A (2003): Comparison of digital photography to weighed and visual estimation of portion sizes. J. Am. Diet. Assoc. 103, 1139–1145.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolper C, Heshka S & Heymsfield SB (1995): Measuring food intake: An overview. In Handbook of Assessment Measures for Eating Behaviours and Weight-Related Problems ed. Allison D, pp 215–240. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Applied Health Sciences, Section of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pavia, Italy

    G Turconi, M Guarcello, R Bazzano & C Roggi

  2. Department of Applied Health Sciences, Section of Epidemiology and Medical Statistics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Pavia, Italy

    F Gigli Berzolari & A Carolei

Authors
  1. G Turconi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M Guarcello
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. F Gigli Berzolari
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. A Carolei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. R Bazzano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. C Roggi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to G Turconi.

Additional information

Guarantors: Turconi G and Guarcello M.

Contributors: TG and GM: project of the study and development of food colour photography atlas; GBF and CA: statistical analysis; BR: dietitians' coordinator in validation study; RC: supervisor.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Turconi, G., Guarcello, M., Berzolari, F. et al. An evaluation of a colour food photography atlas as a tool for quantifying food portion size in epidemiological dietary surveys. Eur J Clin Nutr 59, 923–931 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602162

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.ejcn.1602162

Keywords

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links