80/20 Nutrition Planner

How to do a Computerised Food Record Dietary Analysis

We have a computer programme which can be used to analyse nutritional intake. Clients can complete a 3-day diet record including 2 week days and 1 weekend day (for variation).

Your client can complete the Dietary Analysis form and send it to iFood along with the 3-day diet record.

There are detailed instructions on the diet record booklets diet record booklets on how to fill out a food record. You should stress that we need as much information possible. We need to know information on:

• Type of food (full description e.g. wholemeal toast slice, or white thin sliced bread)
• Food preparation (e.g. fried, boiled, poached, grilled, etc)
• Quantity of food eaten (e.g. weight of food on scales, volume of food using cups, teaspoons, tablespoons and other household measures, using amounts on labels and food packets, etc)

Once the client has completed the food diary you can send it to iFood. We will then enter it into our computer programme. From this programme we will get information on macronutrients (fat, carbohydrate and protein), as well as vitamins and minerals. These will be compared to the American Recommended Nutrient Intakes.

Results will be displayed as a combination of tables and graphs.

You can use the information from the food records to make appropriate nutritional recommendations.

Recommendation for Macronutrient intake

In general macronutrient intake should be with the following goals:

Fat

• Total fat: 20-35% of total energy intake
• Saturated fat: less than 8-12% of total energy intake
• Monounsaturated fat: between 10-20% of total energy intake
• Polyunsaturated fat: between 6-10% of total energy intake

Carbohydrate

• Total carbohydrate: 45-60% of total energy intake
• Sugars: less than 15% of total energy intake

Protein

•  12-25% of total energy intake
•  0.8-2.0g/kg of body weight per day

Alcohol

• Less than 5% of total energy intake per day

Fibre

• >25-30g per day

Total Energy

It is difficult to determine an individual's exact energy requirements. The computer programme estimates energy requirement based on age, sex, and activity level. This may differ from the recorded figure. This may be due to:

• Under-reporting during the recording period (we often find that most individuals will underestimate their food intake by around 20%)
• Under-eating during the recording period
• The recording period may have been misrepresentative of their usual eating pattern
• Not measuring food intake properly
• Having to use substitutes on the food programme (the computer programme only has a limited number of foods and sometimes we have to substitute for the closest food item, or if we are able to, we can add the food to our data base
• Dishonesty, or individuals trying to make their diet look "good"
• In general, if an individuals weight is stable, they are eating sufficient calories. If they are losing weight they are eating insufficient calories, if they are gaining weight they are eating too many calories.

We can use the following equations to work out if their recorded energy intake is representative of their usual pattern.

Goldberg Equations

The Goldberg cut-offs indicate how representative the diet is of usual intake.

Cut-off 1: Basal Metabolic Rate x1.06

Cut-off 2: Basal Metabolic Rate x1.35

If the recorded intake is less than cut-off 1, then the diet is an unlikely representation of their habitual diet and is also unlikely to be a good reflection of the 3 days recorded.

If the recorded intake is less than cut-off 2, then the diet record is unlikely to represent their habitual intake.

How to determine Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR);

Table 1 shows the equations for estimating BMR in MJ/day from body weight (kg) in adults and in children over the age of 10 years.

Table 1: Determination of BMR

From: Schofield et al. Basal metabolic rate - Review and prediction, together with an annotated bibliography of source material. Hum Nutr Clin Nutr 1985;39C:1-9.

Individuals may have their own personal goals for these nutrients. They can also compare their actual intake with their own personal goals.

Recommended levels of Vitamins and Minerals

We compare vitamin and mineral intakes to the recommended nutrient intake values (RNIs). RNIs have a large safety margin added to them so that they cover the requirements of most of the population. Therefore actual individual requirement may be lower than the RNI. In general if an intake is less than 2/3 (i.e. 66%) of the RNI, the risk of deficiency in the nutrient is increased.

Intakes of many vitamins and minerals may be higher than the RNIs. This is perfectly fine. It is extremely rare to overdose on vitamins and minerals when consuming nutrients from food sources alone, unless a lot of fortified foods are eaten.

Please Note: We do not enter dietary supplements such as vitamin and mineral pills. This is so that the client can see what nutrients they are obtaining from their diet per se. We do enter supplements that contain energy and macronutrients e.g. protein shakes, protein bars, sports bars, oils e.g. flaxseed etc.