absolute change in food intake absolute change in food intake volume 2013-09-11T14:25:30Z A calculated measurement of the difference in the volume, i.e., the size of the three dimensional space occupied by the food (material, usually of plant or animal origin, that contains essential nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, and/or minerals and that is ingested and assimilated by an organism to produce energy, stimulate growth, and maintain life) taken in for utilization by the body between two points in time or two conditions, expressed as the result of the subtraction in and of itself without comparison by ratio with another quantity. CMO:0001777 JSmith The term "absolute change" refers to the subtraction of one value from another, as opposed to a dissimilarity of two values expressed as a ratio or as a percentage. In this context it is not intended to necessarily imply the difference expressed as an absolute value |n|, that is, the numeric value of the difference without regard to its sign. clinical_measurement_ontology