Fieldwork for the Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children (DNSIYC) was carried out during 2011 to provide detailed quantitative information on food and nutrient intakes, nutrient sources and nutritional status of a representative sample of infants aged 4-18 months in the UK. In 2009-10 a preliminary study was carried out to assess the effectiveness and validity of using calibrated utensils to measure food and drink consumption in infants aged 4-18 months. The aim was to determine if the use of calibrated utensils influenced the portion size offered to the infant and so affect their daily nutrient intake.Food and drink intakes of 50 infants in North-East England were recorded using both an ESTIMATED and a WEIGHED 4-day food diary in random order, completed by the infant's parent/carer, over a 2 week period. Parents were provided with 4 graduated containers for food preparation and serving (2 · 150 ml and 2 · 300 ml), as well as 6 spoons (1.25 ml-15 ml), and were encouraged to use these to record all portion sizes in the ESTIMATED diary. Volume measures were converted to gram weights by the application of conversion factors, calculated for each food and drink consumed.The table below shows the mean daily intakes for each method. 41 % of the sample had mean daily intakes (g) for the estimated method which were within 10 % of the weighed intakes. 96 % were within 50 % of the weighed intakes. There was no difference in mean intakes between the two methods for different food types e.g. discrete food items and amorphous foods. Mean daily intakes Weighed EstimatedFood weight (g) 932 958 Energy (kcal) 721 776 The results indicated that the estimated intake method, supported by the use of measuring equipment, gave very similar results to those of weighed intakes. However the diary coding stage for these pilot data found the use of the equipment resulted in a much slower coding rate and a high number of queries. Based on the number of participants taking part in the main stage of DNSIYC, it was calculated many more coders would be required to manage the queries and meet deadlines. The final decision was to proceed with a household measures approach for dietary data collection; this method required no additional equipment and fewer coding resources. Although the household measures method has been extensively used in older age groups, (1) further work is proposed to validate this method against weighed intakes in 4-18 month infants. The study will follow the same method described above and will determine whether the household measures approach results in similar intakes as the weighed method.

The Diet and Nutrition Survey of Infants and Young Children (DNSIYC) was carried out in 2011 to assess the nutrient intakes of 4 to 18 month old infants in the UK. Prior to the main stage of DNSIYC, pilot work was undertaken to determine the impact of using graduated utensils to estimate portion sizes. The aims were to assess whether the provision of graduated utensils altered either the foods given to infants or the amount consumed by comparing estimated intakes to weighed intakes. Parents completed two 4-day food diaries over a two week period; an estimated diary using graduated utensils and a weighed diary. Two estimated diary formats were tested; half the participants completed estimated diaries in which they recorded the amount of food/drink served and the amount left over, and the other half recorded the amount of food/drink consumed only. Median daily food intake for the estimated and the weighed method were similar; 980g and 928g respectively. There was a small (6.6%) but statistically significant difference in energy intake reported by the estimated and the weighed method; 3189kJ and 2978kJ respectively. There were no statistically significant differences between estimated intakes from the served and left over diaries and weighed intakes (p>0.05). Estimated intakes from the amount consumed diaries were significantly different to weighed intakes (food weight (g) p = 0.02; energy (kJ) p = 0.01). There were no differences in intakes of amorphous (foods which take the shape of the container, e.g. pureed foods, porridge) and discrete food items (individual pieces of food e.g. biscuits, rice cakes) between the two methods. The results suggest that the household measures approach to reporting portion size, with the combined use of the graduated utensils, and recording the amount served and the amount left over in the food diaries, may provide a feasible alternative to weighed intakes.