An assessment of the validity of the remote food photography method (termed Snap-N-Send) in experienced and inexperienced sport nutritionists

The remote food photography method (RFPM), often referred to as ‘Snap-N-Send’ by sport nutritionists, has been reported as a valid method to assess energy intake in athletic populations. However, preliminary studies were not conducted in true free-living conditions and dietary assessment was performed by one researcher only. We therefore assessed the validity of ‘Snap-N-Send’ to assess energy and macronutrient composition in experienced (EXP, n=23) and inexperienced (INEXP, n=25) sport nutritionists. Participants analysed two days of dietary photographs, comprising eight meals. Day 1 consisted of ‘simple’ meals based around easily distinguishable foods (i.e. chicken breast and rice) and Day 2, ‘complex’ meals containing ‘hidden’ ingredients (i.e. chicken curry). Estimates of dietary intake were analysed for validity using one-sample t-tests and typical error of estimates (TEE). INEXP and EXP nutritionists underestimated energy intake for the simple day (Mean difference, MD = -1.5 MJ, TEE = 10.1%; -1.2 MJ, TEE = 9.3% respectively) and the complex day (MD = -1.2 MJ, TEE = 17.8%; MD = -0.6 MJ, 14.3% respectively). Carbohydrate intake was underestimated by INEXP (MD = -65.5 g.day-1, TEE = 10.8% and MD = -28.7 g.day-1, TEE = 24.4%) and EXP (MD = -53.4 g.day-1, TEE = 10.1% and -19.9 g.day-1, TEE = 17.5%) for both simple and complex days, respectively. The inter-practitioner reliability was generally ‘poor’ for energy and macro-nutrients. Data demonstrate that the RFPM / ‘Snap-N-Send’ under-estimates energy intake in simple and complex meals and these errors are evident in experienced and inexperienced sport nutritionists.