Inaccuracies in food and physical activity diaries of obese subjects: complementary evidence from doubly labeled water and co-twin assessments.

K.H. Pietilainen*, M. Korkeila, L.H. Bogl, K.R. Westerterp, H. Yki Jarvinen, J. Kaprio, A. Rissanen

*Corresponding author for this work

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Abstract

Objective:To study whether eating or physical-activity (PA) habits differ between obese and non-obese monozygotic (MZ) co-twins independent of genetic effects.Methods:Rare MZ pairs discordant for obesity (n=14, body mass index difference 5.2+/-1.8 kg m(-2)) and weight-concordant control pairs (n=10, 1.0+/-0.7 kg m(-2)), identified through a population-based registry of 24-28-year-old twins (n=658 MZ pairs), completed 3-day food and PA diaries and eating behavior questionnaires. Each twin was asked to compare his/her own eating and PA patterns with the co-twin's behavior by structured questionnaires. Accuracy of energy intake was validated by doubly labeled water.Results:Non-obese co-twins consistently reported that their obese twin siblings ate more food overall, consumed less healthy foods and exercised less than the non-obese co-twins do. However, no differences in energy intake (9.6+/-1.0 MJ per day vs 9.8+/-1.1 MJ per day, respectively) in the food diaries or in the mean PA level (1.74+/-0.02 vs 1.79+/-0.04, respectively) in the PA diaries were found between obese and non-obese co-twins. A considerable underreporting of energy intake (3.2+/-1.1 MJ per day, P=0.036) and overreporting of PA (1.8+/-0.8 MJ per day, P=0.049) was observed in the obese, but not in the non-obese co-twins.Conclusions:On the basis of rare MZ twin pairs discordant for obesity, the co-twin assessments confirmed substantial differences in eating and PA behavior between obese and non-obese persons. These may be overlooked in population studies using food and PA diaries because of considerable misreporting by the obese.International Journal of Obesity advance online publication, 15 December 2009; doi:10.1038/ijo.2009.251.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)437-445
Number of pages9
JournalInternational Journal of Obesity
Volume34
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2010

Keywords

  • twin studies
  • underreporting
  • physical-activity diaries
  • food diaries
  • BODY-MASS INDEX
  • 3-FACTOR EATING QUESTIONNAIRE
  • ADULT MONOZYGOTIC TWINS
  • ENERGY-INTAKE
  • ACQUIRED OBESITY
  • INSULIN-RESISTANCE
  • DIETARY RESTRAINT
  • ADIPOSE-TISSUE
  • WEIGHT
  • FAT

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