Evaluation of Energy Intake Assessed by the Food Frequency Questionnaire for Japanese Athletes (FFQJA) Using the Doubly Labeled Water Method

Energy intake assessed using the food frequency questionnaire for Japanese athletes (FFQJA) was evaluated with the doubly labeled water method. The subjects (n=10) were recruited from a male track and field team in one university. The average total energy intake assessed using the FFQJA was 2,662 (standard deviation: 445) kcal, and the average total energy expenditure assessed using the doubly labeled water method was 3,149 (337) kcal. The FFQJA estimate of total energy intake was 486 (897) kcal lower than the total energy expenditure corrected for changes in body weight. A percentage difference between total energy intake and corrected total energy expenditure was −10.3% on average. No significant difference was found between energy intake and corrected energy expenditure. However, Kendall’s τb and weighted Kappa suggested poor agreement at the individual level. Bland–Altman plot analysis suggested that there was no significant relation between differences in total energy intake and corrected total energy expenditure and average of total energy intake and corrected total energy expenditure (r=−0.493, p=0.147). Because the present study examined only a small number of participants and all of whom were male track and field athletes from the same team, future studies will be needed to clarify the generalizability of these findings.