Principle of estimating

nutritional requirement

By
Nurezeman Gali (Bsc, Msc)
Jimma University
Institute of Health
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• Metabolism embraces the processes through which
life is maintained, and there are on-going needs for
energy and nutrients to support these processes.

• The rate at which a nutrient has to be provided to

the body to support metabolism and maintain
functions represents the physiological requirement
or metabolic demand for that nutrient.

• The physiological requirement varies between

individuals depend upon genetic and epigenetic
differences, age, sex, physiological state such as
pregnancy, and also varies in the same individual in
response to environmental stress such as infection,
trauma, behavioural or social stressors.
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Establishing the dietary requirement of
nutrients
• Some nutrients need to be provided in the diet,
and for others metabolism can contribute to their
formation and availability to the body.

• Dietary requirement has been identified as the

amount of a nutrient which must be consumed on
a regular basis to maintain health in an healthy
individual.

• Its the amount of a nutrient which has to be

provided preformed in the diet, or the amount of
the precursor which has to be taken in the diet in
order to meet the physiological need.
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 Cont…..
• The Nutritional Requirements developed based on the

requirements for different population groups specified by

age, sex, weight, length and physical activity.

• The average requirements are a weighted average by using

the size of each age-sex group as weights.

• This includes specific needs for pregnant and lactating

women.

• These requirements are not individual requirements of a

particular individual, but an average for a group that is
representative of the population in a country. 4
 Dietary Reference Intakes

• Using the results of thousands of research studies,

nutrition experts have produced a set of standards
that define the amounts of energy, nutrients, other
dietary components, and physical activity that best
support health.
• These recommendations are called Dietary Reference
Intakes (DRI).

• Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are reference values

that are quantitative estimates of nutrient intakes to
be used for planning and assessing diets for healthy
people.

• They reflect the collaborative efforts of researchers in

different countries.
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 Cont….

• The DRI Committee consists of highly qualified

scientists who base their estimates of nutrient
needs on careful examination and interpretation of
scientific evidence.
• These recommendations apply to healthy people
and may not be appropriate for people with
diseases that increase or decrease nutrient needs.

Components of DRI
• Estimated Average Requirements (EAR)
• Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)
• Adequate Intakes (AI)
• Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL)
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 Estimated Average Requirements
(EAR)
• The average daily amount of a nutrient that will
maintain a specific biochemical or physiological
function in half the healthy people of a given age
and gender group.

• At this level of intake, the other half of the

individuals in the specified group would not have
their needs met.

• The EAR is based on a specific criterion of

adequacy, derived from a careful review of the
literature.

• Reduction of disease risk is considered along with7

 Cont…
• An examination of all the available data reveals
that each person 's body is unique and has its own
set of requirements.

• Men differ from women, and needs change as

people grow from infancy through old age.

• For this reason, the committee clusters its

recommendations for people into groups based on
age and gender and physiological state.

• Even so, the exact requirements for people of the

same age and gender are likely to be different.
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 Cont…
• Looking at enough people might reveal that their
individual requirements fall into a symmetrical
distribution, with most near the midpoint and only
a few at the extremes.

• Using this information, the committee determines

an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) for
each nutrient.

• The average amount that appears sufficient for

half of the population.

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Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA)

• A Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) is the

average daily dietary intake level that is sufficient
to meet the nutrient requirement of nearly all (97
to 98 percent) healthy individuals in a particular
life-stage and gender group.

• The Estimated Average Requirement is probably

closest to everyone's need.

• However, if people consumed exactly the

estimated average requirement of a given
nutrient each day, half of the population would
develop deficiencies of that nutrient.
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 Cont….
• Recommendations are therefore set high enough
above the Estimated Average Requirement to meet
the needs of most healthy people.
• The RDA is used as a goal for usual intake of
individuals.

• RDA is calculated based on the EAR, an RDA can only

be set for a particular nutrient if there is sufficient
scientific evidence to establish an EAR for that
nutrient.

• Small amounts above the daily requirement do no

harm, whereas amounts below the requirement may
lead to health problems.
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 CONT…

• When people's nutrient intakes are consistently

deficient (less than the requirement), their
nutrient stores decline, over time this decline
leads to poor health and deficiency symptoms.

• Therefore, to ensure that the nutrient RDA meet

the needs of as many people as possible, the RDA
are set near the top end of the range of the
population's estimated requirements.

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Cont…

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 Cont….

• In this example, a reasonable RDA might be 63

units a day. Such a point can be calculated
mathematically so that it covers about 98 percent
of a population.

• Almost everybody-including person C whose needs

were higher than the average-would be covered if
they met this dietary goal.

• Relatively few people's requirements would exceed

this recommendation, and even then, they
wouldn't exceed by much.
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 Adequate Intakes (AI)
• If sufficient scientific evidence is not available to establish
an EAR and set an RDA, an AI is derived for the nutrient
instead.
• An AI is based on much less data and incorporates
substantially more judgment than is used in establishing
an EAR and subsequently the RDA.

• The issuance of an AI indicates that more research is

needed to determine, the mean and distribution of
requirements for that specific nutrient.

• The AI is a recommended average daily nutrient intake

level based on observed or experimentally determined
approximations or estimates of nutrient intake by a group
(or groups) of apparently healthy people who are
assumed to be maintaining an adequate nutritional state.
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 Cont….
• The AI is expected to meet or exceed the needs of
most individuals in a specific life-stage and gender
group.

• When an RDA is not available for a nutrient, the AI

can be used as the goal for an individual's intake.
• AI has very limited uses in assessments of any
type.
• Although both the RDA and the AI serve as nutrient
intake goals for individuals, their differences are
significant.
• An RDA for a given nutrient is based on enough
scientific evidence to expect that the needs of
almost all healthy people will be met.
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 CONT….

• An AI, on the other hand, must rely more heavily on

scientific judgments because sufficient evidence is
lacking.
• The percentage of people covered by an AI is unknown

• An AI is expected to exceed average requirements, but

it may cover more or fewer people than an RDA would
cover (if an RDA could be determined).
• For these reasons, AI values are more tentative than
RDA.

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Tolerable Upper Intake Levels (UL)

• The recommended intakes for nutrients are

generous, and they do not necessarily cover
every individual for every nutrient.
• Nevertheless, it is probably best not to exceed
these recommendations by very much or very
often.
• Individual tolerances for high doses of nutrients
vary, and somewhere above the recommended
intake is a point beyond which a nutrient is likely
to become toxic.
• This point is known as the Tolerable Upper Intake
Level (UL).
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 Cont….
• A Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL) is the highest
level of continuing daily nutrient intake that is likely
to pose no risk of adverse health effects in almost
all individuals in the life-stage group for which it
has been designed.

• As intake increases above the UL, the potential risk

of adverse effects increases.

• The term "tolerable" intake was chosen to avoid

implying a possible beneficial effect. Instead, the
term is intended to specify a level of intake with a
high probability of being tolerated biologically.
• The UL is not intended to be a recommended level
of intake. 21
 Cont….
• Unless specifically identified in the nutrient reports (e.g.
for folate in the prevention of neural tube defects), there
is no currently established benefit to healthy individuals
of ingesting nutrients in amounts exceeding the RDA or
AI.

• At intakes between the RDA and UL, the risks to the

individual of inadequacy and of excess are both close to
zero.

• The need to establish ULs grew out because of the

increasingly common practice of fortification of foods
with nutrients and the increased use of dietary
supplements. The adverse health effects used to
determine a UL vary from nutrient to nutrient.
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 Cont….

• It is naive-and inaccurate-to think of

recommendations as minimum amounts, they
necessarily optimal intakes for all healthy individuals

• A more accurate view is to see a person's nutrient

needs as falling within a range, with marginal and
danger zones both below and above it.

• Paying attention to upper levels is particularly useful

in guarding against the overconsumption of
nutrients, which may occur when people use large-
dose supplements and fortified foods regularly.

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CONT…

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 CONT…..
NB: Estimates of adequate energy and nutrient
intakes apply to healthy people.

• They need to be adjusted for malnourished

people or those with medical problems who may
require supplemented or restricted intakes.

• Given the recent explosion of knowledge

about genetics, the day may be fast
approaching when nutrition scientists will be
able to determine an individual's optimal
nutrient needs.
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 Establishing Energy Recommendations
• The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) define the
daily requirement for energy as the Estimated
Energy Requirement (EER).
• The EER is based on calculations that account for
an individual’s energy expenditure, age, sex,
weight, height, and physical activity level.
• Definition: The amount of energy intake from
food that replaces energy expenditure compatible
with normal health and allows an individual to be
involved in economically necessary and socially
desirable activities(FAO/WHO/UNU, 1985).
• Although the intent of nutrient recommendations
seems simple, they are the subject of much
misunderstanding and controversy.
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 CONT…
• Excess energy cannot be readily excreted and is
eventually stored as body fat. These reserves
may be beneficial when food is scarce, but they
can also lead to obesity and its associated health
consequences.
• Estimated Energy Requirement (EER)-
represents the average dietary energy intake
(kcalories per day) that will maintain energy
balance in a person who has a healthy body
weight and level of physical activity.

• Enough energy is needed to sustain a healthy and

active life, but too much energy can lead to
weight gain and obesity. Because any amount in
excess of energy needs will result in weight gain 27
 CONT…
• Estimating energy requirements is affected by many
factors
 Gender
men generally have an overall larger body (both height
and weight) and greater muscle mass than women, they
also have increased caloric needs compared to women.

 Growth – BMR is high in people who are growing

 Age – BMR declines as lean body mass decreases

 Physical activity – Activities are clustered by intensity

and vary considerably

 Body composition and body size – taller people have

more surface area and heavier people have higher BMRs

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 Cont….
• It was agreed by the FAO/WHO/UN experts that
energy requirement should be estimated based
on Energy expenditure and

• Not Based on Energy Intake

Energy Requirement= Energy Expenditure

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Estimation of energy Requirement

Energy Energy
Requirement = Expenditure

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 CONT….

• Energy expenditure includes

 Basal metabolic activities,
 Physical activity,
 Thermic effect of food and
 Adaptive thermogenesis.

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Cont….

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 CONT…

• healthy adult needs do not change drastically, and

would only vary during pregnancy, lactation, and an
increase in physical activity.

• Based on recommendations from the Institute of

Medicine, during pregnancy, women need to
increase their intake by 300 calories per day.
• These amounts can vary depending on the age of
the pregnant woman.

• If a woman breastfeeds, calorie needs increase by

500 calories per day.

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 Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution
Ranges (AMDR)
• People don't eat energy directly; they derive energy
from foods containing carbohydrate, fat, and protein.

• Each of these three energy-yielding nutrients

contributes to the total energy intake, and those
contributions vary in relation to each other.

• The DRI committee has determined that the

composition of a diet that provides adequate energy
and nutrients and reduces the risk of chronic diseases
is:
 45-65 percent kcalories from carbohydrate
 20-35 percent kcalories from fat
 10-35 percent kcalories from protein
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Thank you!!!!

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