Paper
Monday, November 5, 2007
536
A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Words: Using Photographs as a Dietary Measure
Leigh Small, PhD, RN, CPNP, Pediatrics, Arizona State University College of Nursing, Phoenix, AZ, USA, Bernadette Mazurek Melnyk, PhD, RN, CPNP, FAAN, Arizona State University College of Nursing & Healthcare Innovation, Phoenix, AZ, USA, Cantrine Tudor-Locke, PhD, Department of Exercise and Wellness, Arizona State University Polytechnic, Mesa, AZ, USA, and Jeffrey Hampl, PhD, RD, Nutrition, Arizona State Univeristy Polytechnic, Mesa, AZ, USA.
Purpose: Photographic techniques also have been successfully used by clinicians to quantify distances and measures, provide accurate information regarding surroundings and depict other subtle relationships that may not be accurately reported. The purpose of this paper is to introduce this measurement tool to other researchers and to discuss the strengths and limitations of its use.
Rationale: One potential contributor to the paucity of research conducted with young children with regard to healthy weight is the challenges of identifying reliable and valid measurement tools. Furthermore, current measurement tools (e.g., five day diet histories) place a large subject burden on parents of young children and may contribute to the high rates of participant attrition that often approach 60 to 70% in similar studies. Additionally, the accuracy of these reports has been questioned frequently and it is now thought that the dietary intake of young children is somewhat exaggerated using the traditional diet diary methods.
Method: This novel measurement technique was developed and tested for the first time in an intervention program conducted with 24 parents of preschool children, the overall goal of which was to promote healthy child weight development.
Results: Pre- and post-meal photographs were taken and food weight estimates were easily calculated to determine the children’s dietary intake over a 48 hour period of time. Parents were encouraged to make use of any leftover film and take photographs of their child which were later returned to the families to encourage continued participation.
Implications: The application of this easy-to-use and novel dietary intake measure may result in more accurate data collection and reduced study attrition due to subject burden in future studies thereby significantly enhancing the ability to study healthy weight interventions with young children.