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Observational Study
. 2021 Jun;34(3):604-615.
doi: 10.1111/jhn.12844. Epub 2021 Jan 6.

Development and validation of a photographic atlas of food portions for accurate quantification of dietary intakes in China

Ye Ding  1 , Yue Yang  1 , Fang Li  1 , Yingying Shao  2 , Zhongqing Sun  3 , Chunmei Zhong  4 , Ping Fan  5 , Zuwen Li  6 , Man Zhang  7 , Xiaocheng Li  8 , Tingting Jiang  9 , Chenglin Song  10 , Dandan Chen  11 , Xiaoju Peng  12 , Lu Yin  9 , Yuanhong She  1 , Zhixu Wang  1
Affiliations
Observational Study

Development and validation of a photographic atlas of food portions for accurate quantification of dietary intakes in China

Ye Ding et al. J Hum Nutr Diet. 2021 Jun.

Abstract

Background: Accurate estimation of food portion sizes remains an important challenge in dietary data collection. The present study aimed to develop a food atlas with adequate visual reference to improve the accuracy of dietary surveys in China.

Methods: A food atlas for dietary surveys in China was developed using three visual reference systems, namely, regularly placed food portions, the two-dimensional background coordinates and common objects known in daily life. The atlas was validated by estimating a meal before and after using the food atlas, and differences in weight estimation were compared using a paired t-test. In total, 50 college students participated in the study.

Results: After determination of food varieties; design of the food display; purchase, processing, cooking and weighing of food; photographing food; post-image processing and data processing, a total of 799 pictures of 303 types of food and two types of tableware were produced. The mean value of food weight estimated with the atlas was closer to the actual weight, and the variation range of these values was smaller and more stable than that estimated without the atlas. The differences estimated before and after using the atlas for all foods were significant (P < 0.05). Comparing the differences in weight before using the atlas, the error ranges of food samples were reduced.

Conclusions: A food atlas has been developed for a retrospective dietary survey in China, which can be used to enable a better understanding of nutritional adequacy in the Chinese population.

Keywords: food atlas; food estimation; retrospective dietary survey; visual reference systems.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Photos of rice and vermicelli in different states. (a) Raw and dry rice (above) and steamed rice (below). (b) Sparse rice porridge (above) and thick rice porridge (below). (c) Raw (above) and cooked (below)Vermicelli made of starch from beans excluding soybeans. (d) Raw (above) and cooked (below)Vermicelli made of starch from potatoes.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Photos of zucchini in different processing methods. (a) The whole zucchini. (b) Raw (above) and cooked (below) zucchini cut into pieces. (c) Raw (above) and cooked (below) zucchini cut into strips. (d) Raw (above) and cooked (below) diced zucchini. (e) Raw (above) and cooked (below) shredded zucchini.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Photos of raw (above) and cooked (below) chicken and internal organs of chicken. (a) The whole chicken were divided into different parts. (b) Different portions of chicken breast meat. (c) Chicken liver. (d) Chicken heart. (e) Chicken gizzard.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Photos of fish, shrimp, crabs and shellfish. (a) Crucian and carp displayed in whole (above) or in part (below) by size or weight. (b) Raw (above) and cooked (below) swimming crabs. (c) The marine shrimps with shells, shelled fresh shrimps and cooked shrimps. (d) Clams with shell and separated shell and meat.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Photos of Chinese and Western representative compound processed foods and tableware. (a) Steamed stuffed buns. (b) Dumplings. (c) Sandwiches. (d) Hamburgers. (e) Glasses (above) and bowls (below) of different sizes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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