12/22/22, 12:03 PM 24-hour Dietary Recall (24HR) At a Glance | Dietary Assessment Primer

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24-hour Dietary Recall (24HR) At a Glance

Purpose

To obtain detailed information about all foods and beverages consumed on a given day.

Description

A 24-hour dietary recall (24HR) is a structured interview intended to capture detailed information about all
foods and beverages (and possibly, dietary supplements) consumed by the respondent in the past 24 hours,
most commonly, from midnight to midnight the previous day. A key feature of the 24HR is that, when
appropriate, the respondent is asked for more detailed information than first reported. For example, a
respondent reporting chicken for dinner or a sandwich for lunch would be asked about the preparation
method and type of bread. This open-ended response structure is designed to prompt respondents to
provide a comprehensive and detailed report of all foods and beverages consumed.

In addition to other detailed descriptors, such as time of day and source of food, portion size of each food
and beverage is captured. Food models, pictures, and other visual aids may be used to help respondents
judge and report portion size and may improve accuracy.

Dietary recalls typically ask about foods and beverages first, before questions on dietary supplements.

A 24HR usually requires 20 to 60 minutes to complete.

Standardized automated interviewing systems that include multiple passes, such as the USDA's Automated
Multiple-Pass Method, have been developed to facilitate complete recalls. These systems include nearly
complete automated coding that is supplemented by manual coding for reported foods or beverages not in
the database.

24HRs are typically administered by a trained interviewer, but automated self-administered tools, such as
the National Cancer Institute's Automated Self-Administered 24-Hour Dietary Assessment Tool (ASA24),
also are available.

Utility of Data

24HR data can be used to assess total dietary intake and/or particular aspects of the diet:
The 24HR yields detailed information on foods and beverages consumed on a given day. The
total amount of each specific food and beverage consumed is captured.
Similar types of food and beverage items reported, such as soups or sugar-sweetened
beverages, can be grouped. Totals for each group can then be summed.
If data are linked to a nutrient composition database, nutrient intake from foods and beverages
can be determined (Learn More about Food Composition Databases for 24-hour Dietary Recalls
and Food Records). However, total nutrient intake cannot be ascertained unless dietary
supplement intake data also are collected (Learn More about Dietary Supplements and
Estimating Total Nutrient Intakes).
If data are linked to a database that translates foods and beverages into food group equivalents,
such as the Food Patterns Equivalents Database, foods and beverages reported can be
disaggregated into their component ingredients, which can then be converted to equivalent
amounts of relevant guidance-based food groups (For more information, read a factsheet on
FPED products and associated data files or its application to dietary analysis .). This provides
information about the consumption of food groups of particular interest, such as total intake of
fruits, vegetables, or added sugars.
If information such as names of eating occasions, timing and locations of meals and snacks,
sources of food and beverages, and other activities such as TV and computer use during meals
is collected, the 24HR can yield contextual information, such as meal and snack patterns,
consumption of foods and beverage from home and away from home, and activities during
meals.
24HRs can be used to describe a population's intake (e.g., the cross-sectional study What We Eat in
America/National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey) (see Choosing an Approach for Dietary
Assessment).
Mean usual intakes can be estimated with a single administration.
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12/22/22, 12:03 PM 24-hour Dietary Recall (24HR) At a Glance | Dietary Assessment Primer
Collecting a recall for at least two non-consecutive days allows application of statistical
techniques to estimate usual dietary intake distributions for a group (for example, to answer
research questions such as the proportion above or below some threshold) (Learn More about
Usual Dietary Intake).
24HRs can be used to examine relationships between diet and health or other variables, in which diet
is the independent variable (see Choosing an Approach for Dietary Assessment).
Sometimes, they are used as a reference instrument to validate or calibrate estimates when
another less detailed assessment instrument, such as a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ), is
used as the main dietary assessment instrument.
With the advent of self-administered automated 24HRs, 24HRs potentially can be used as a
main dietary assessment instrument with or without an FFQ for diet-health studies, including in
large prospective studies.
The number and timing of the 24HRs needed depends on the objectives.
24HRs can be used to examine relationships between some factor and diet, in which diet is the
dependent variable (see Choosing an Approach for Dietary Assessment).

24HRs can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention study to change diet. The potential
for differential response bias due to the possibility that the intervention group and control group may
report their diets differently, especially following an intervention should be considered. However, while
this type of bias is a concern for all self-report instruments, it may be less problematic with 24HRs
than with other instruments (see Choosing an Approach for Dietary Assessment).
The number and timing of the 24HRs needed depends on the intervention design and the
objectives.

Limitations of Data

The requirements of completing a 24HR may limit participation in some groups, leading to potential
selection bias.
Because a single administration of a 24HR is unable to account for day-to-day variation, two or more
non-consecutive recalls are required to estimate usual dietary intake distributions. Multiple
administrations are also recommended when 24HRs are used to examine diet and health or other
variables.

Salient Features Compared to Other Self-Report Instruments Methods

For an at-a-glance comparison of the major features of self-report instruments for assessing diet, including
the 24HR, see the Comparing Dietary Assessment Instruments table.

Captures current short-term diet (in contrast to FFQ and screener).

Typically interviewer-administered (in contrast to FFQ, food record, and screener), but automated self-
administered 24HRs are available and becoming more widely used.
Relies on specific memory (in contrast to FFQ and screener, which rely on generic memory, and food
record, which does not rely on memory).
If recalls are unannounced, they are not affected by reactivity (in contrast to food record) (Learn More
about Reactivity).
Its major type of measurement error is random versus systematic (in contrast to FFQ and screener)
(see Key Concepts about Measurement Error).

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