Dietary References intake

• Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are a set of four types of nutrient intake reference standards used to assess and plan dietary intake
• The four types of DRIs include:

  • Estimated Average Requirements (EARs)
  • Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) or Recommended Nutrient Intake (RNI)
  • Adequate Intake levels (AIs)
  • Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (ULs)
• Nutrient requirement is the lowest chronic intake level of a nutrient that supports a defined level of nutritional status in a particular individual
• The amount of nutrient needed to prevent deficiencies
• Influenced by age, sex, genetics, medications, and environmental factors
• Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) is the amount of a nutrient that meets the physiological requirements of half (50%) the healthy population of similar individuals
• Established using mathematical equations to predict requirement for half the population
• Useful in research settings to evaluate nutrient consumption adequacy
• Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the average chronic intake level of a nutrient thought to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all (97%) healthy people in a particular physiological state and age
• Derived directly from EAR values using mathematical equations
• Include a safety margin to ensure adequate nutrient intake
• Adequate Intake Level (AI) is the nutrient intake of healthy populations that appears to support adequate nutritional status when RDAs cannot be established
• Based on experimentally documented intake levels of a nutrient that maintain nutritional status
• In general, AI levels exceed true nutrient requirements
• Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest level of chronic intake of a nutrient thought to be not detrimental to health
• Established to prevent deficiencies and decrease risk of chronic degenerative diseases
• Avoiding toxicity is also important
• Estimated Energy Requirements (EERs) are the average energy intake required to maintain energy balance in healthy individuals based on sex, age, physical activity level, weight, and height
• Influenced by factors like sex, age, physical activity level, weight, and height
• EER formula for adult man: EER = 662 - [9.53 x age (y)] + PA x [15.91 x wt (kg) + 539.6 x ht (m)]
• EER formula for adult woman: EER = 354 - [6.91 x age (y)] + PA x [9.36 x wt (kg) + 726 x ht (m)]
• Physical Activity (PA) levels:

  • Sedentary (Men and women = 1): No physical activity aside from that needed for independent living
  • Low active (Men = 1.11, Women = 1.12): 1.5 - 3.0 miles/day plus day-to-day life activity
  • Active (Men = 1.25, Women = 1.27): 3 - 10 miles/day plus day-to-day life activity
  • Very active (Men = 1.48, Women = 1.45): ≥ 10 miles/day plus day-to-day life activity