UNIT 1 UNDERSTANDING NUTRITION

Structure
1.1 Introduction
1.2 Nutrition Science: Basic Concepts
1.3 History of Nutrition
1.3.1 Identification of Food Factors and Discovery of Water Soluble Vitamitrs
1.3.2 Discovery of other Essential Nutrients
1.3.3 Expanding Frontiers of Nutrition
1.3.4 The Indian Nbtrition Scenario
Nutritional Requirements
1.4.1 Definition of Conccpts in Relation to Huinan Nutritional Require~nc~lts
1.4.2 Basic Te17ninology in Relation to Nutritiol~al Rcquiren~ents
Methods for Studying the Nutrient Requirements
1.5.1 Populalion Survey of Dietary Intakes of Nutrients
1.5.2 Growth Studies
1.5.3 Depletioil and Repletion Studies
1 S.4 Nulrient Balance Studies
1.5.5 Use of Isotopically Labeled Nutrients: Nutrient Turnover
1 S.6 Obligatory Losses of Nutrients
National and International Recoinmendations on Nutrient Requirements
1.6.1 Recommendations for Indian by the Indian Council of MediL'al Research
1.6.2 FAOIWHO Expert Committee Recommendations
1.6.3 Dietary Reference Illtakes ol' USA and Canada
Goals of National and International Requirement Estimates and RDAs
Dietary Guidelines
Let Us Sum Up
Glossary
Answers to Check Your Progress Exercises

1 . INTRODUCTION
1

This4Qnitcovers the scopC.of advanced nutrition. It begins with some depnitions and
basic concepts and briefly traces the history of nuWonal sciences. It will make you
familiar with terminologies in nutritional requirements such as minimum requirements,
recommended dietary intakes (RDls) and dietary referefice intake (DRIs), terms that
you will come across frequently in the other units as well. The understanding of these
- concepts would help you to analyze cirtically the various methods that are employed
to study and estimate nutrient requirements. Based on considerable research, different
National and International organizations have made recommendations concerning
human nutrient requirements. You will learn about these and their application in
different settings in the final section of this unit.

, Objectives
After studying this unit, you will be able to:
e discuss the discovery of food factors necessary for the prevention of nutritional
deficiency diseases and for the promotion of positive health,
analyze the concept and basis of human nutritional requirements,
define basic terminologies in relation to human nutritional requirements such as
minimum requirements, maintenance allowance, and recommended allowances,
 I
explain the different methods of determining human nutrition requirements, and
@ describe the nalional and international recommended dietary allowances of
human nutritional requirements and learn to apply them for planning and evaluating
diets for health and disease.

1.2 NUTRITION SCIENCE: BASIC CONCEPTS

Food is the very basis of our life, The food we eal, tluough the process of digestion,
we know, is converted into nutrients, and these nut~ientsare absorbed, transposted
to different parts of the body, and utilized for the clay-to-day functioning, at the end
of which they are disposed off by further metabolism and transformation into the end
products. We need to consume a variety of foods in order to remain healthy. A si~nple
thumb rule js to classify foods into different food groups. The basic seven-food
groups concept is useful in getting a balanced diet that helps us to senlain healthy.
These basic seven food groups are: 1) cereals and cereal products 2) pulses (also
meat and meat products) 3) milk and milk products 4) vegetables and fruits 5 ) nuts
and oil seeds 6) fats and oils, and 7) sugars.

An easy way to understand the balanced consuinption of these seven food groups
is represented as four steps to a healthy diet as shown in Figure 1.1. Our daily diets
for maintaining good health should be made up of generous amounts of vegelables
and fnlits, adequate amounts of cereals, pnlses, mill< and ~nilkproducts, moderate
amounts of meat and flesh foods ancl limited q~lantiliesof h t s and oils, nuts and ail
seeds ancl sugars, as shown in the Figure I .I

/EAT SPARINGLY- Fat, Oils & 3ugarh.

/ EAT MODERATELY - Meat & flesh foods \

/ -
EAT LIBERALLY Vegetable & Fiuits \

Figure 1.1: Dietary goidelil~csfor Indians: foundation to nutrition and hculth

Now with this basic understanding, let us gel Lo lcnow what we olean by nutrition
science.

What is nutrition sciertcs? - A defirtition

Nutrition science simply rlcfi~ted, is f/ie k / i o ~ t d e c l prrgalding
~ the role qf ,food in
muintai~zirzggood health, A compr~chensivedefinition give11 by Rohiilson ivns like
this:
 "The science of foods, nutrients and other substances therein; their action, interaction Understailding Nutrition
and balance in relation to health and disease; the process by which an organism
ingests, digests, absorbs, transports and utilizes nutrients and disposes off their end
I products".

Thus, the entire gamut of what foods are needed for maintaining good health, how
they are processed to provide us the wherewith to carry out our daily activities, and
how the end products of the foods we ingest are eliminated constitute the science
of nuhilion.

The next question that you would ask is what parameters can wr ~ 1 , sto~ dcjlJine
good health? Can good health, also be referred to as positive health? Does it merely
mean freedom from diseases or is it more tha~lthat? Let ~ l ssee.

What constitutes good 1zeultli.Y

Positive health has been defined as not nierely freedoill from diseascs but n slatc of
co~npletephysical, inental and spiritual well being. The. requirements lor positive
health are many and these are outlined below.

1) Achiever/ie?zt of optimal growth atzd clcvel(~~~~r~erlt cluri~~,y childtzootl ur~d

nhlescence, 1-eflectiiig the full expi-essioii of an individual's genetic potcnli:~l.
Growth is defined in tei-ms of physical feeatuiaessucli as lleiglit ancl wcight while
developn~entincludes all aspects of physic~lland inentill devclopment.
2) Maintainitlg struct~iralnticl ,functiottol irrte~ritjlqf' ho4r tissr~rstlzt'ozrghotlt
life, allowing thereby to leading an active and productive life. Exa~nplcsinclude
~lloist,bright iund sparkling eyes for good vision, snlooth and sofl skin th:lt will
prevent the entry of infections through thc body su~.l'accs,a11dsin~ilnrlymaintaining
the integrity of internal organs like Llte gnstroinlestinal tract and the liver for
proper digestion and assiniildion of foods and rcmovnl of toxic wostc products.
3) A b i l i t ~to (rnd ~rrenrolwell-hein#. Good
~ perfomz trzerztczl ~ L Z S q/P(-it'~ttlj~
~ S
nutrition is essential for children to develop cognitive skills. learn school-orientecl
tasks well and perlorn1 optiinnlly and slay on in school. Similarly good nutrition
is impoi-tant in sustai~lingalle~ltionmid meltlory in adults as well.
4) Ability to withstcrud the inetlitci1)le process of uageing with ~ninimaldisability.
5) Ability to combat diseases urld resist infectiorts, and to minimize the effects
of eilvironinental pollutants.
To maintain positive health, it is essentiill that we combine uncl consume a variety of
foods in such a way that the nutrient needs Tor the above functions are all provideda
Understanding nutritional needs and translating this into practical diets is no loitger a
simple process, but requires a sound knowledge of nutrition, First we need to review
components of the foods that we eat. The following paragraph
what are the n~~tritional
will focus on this aspect.
What are the llutritional components of the .foods we co?zscrnze?
The foods that we consume are composed of varying quantities of the following
nutritionally iinport'mt components:
1) Carbohydrates
2) Proteins
3) Lipids
4) Water
5) Minerals
6) Vitamins Q

7) Fibre
Advance Nutrition 8) Phytochemicals and anti-oxidants
9) Detoxifying agents
If these nutritional components are consumed daily in the amounts and proportion
required, then the chances are that we will maintain a good health. Therefore, a good
knowledge and understanding of the food sources of these various nutritional
components, their metabolism, and their requirements for different age and physiological
groups is an essential prerequisite for maintaining good health. This course is an
attempt to provide this knowledge and skills.
The last three decades has seen a tremendous progress in nutrition. Although the
importance of nutrition in growth, development and the prevention of nutritional
deficiency diseases was well recognized since the lgih century, it is only in the last
three decades that the frontiers of nutritional science has expanded to include newer
and more dimensions of health such as prevention of chronic degenerative diseases,
retardation of ageing and promotion of mental well being.
Human beings require a large number of nutrients, about 40, for many of which the
requirements are well established. In addition, recent advances have shown that the
diet components like carotenoid pigments, phenolic compounds, flavonoids, anthocyanins,
lignins and indoles are bioactive compounds with a potential role in the prevention of
degenerative diseases and in detoxification.
The earlier dictum that if the diet provided adequate energy to meet our requirements,
then it is likely to be adequate in other respects, is no longer hue. We have to make
conscious efforts to have a healthy diet. If you are a nutrition professional or a
dietitian, then you also 'have the responsibility of planning diets for others bolh for
health and in diseases and in addition, you will be counseling a large number of people
on appropriate diets. This unit will help you to do that by providing a basic understanding
of nutritional requirements.
We begin our study of advance nutrition with a review of the history of nutrition and
the discovery of food factors. Nutrition scenario in the Indian context is also highlighted
in the next section.

1.3 HISTORY OF NUTRITION

Knowledge of human nutritional needs and relationship between diet and health was
placed on a modern scientific footing only since the 19" century, after Lavosier
established that the body obtained energy through oxidation of foodstuffs and Magendie
recognized that protein was essential in the diet for survival. Respiration chambers
for estimating energy requirements were developed by mid lgh century. Nitrogen
balance studies that measured nitrogen retention reasonably accurately made it possible
for the first time to estimate energy and protein requirements with some precision.
Some of these experimental evidences and contributions are highlighted in Box 1.1
for your reference. The first dietary standards were proposed, based on these
experiments, in the year 1860 that an adult human required a daily intake of food to
provide 3000 kilocalories and 80 g of protein. During the next 50 years, several
recommendations were made for energy and protein requirements, most of them
based on the usual intakes of healthy individuals.

Box 1.1 ( The Experimental Evidences and Contributions I

James Lind in 1747 performed controlled experiments on sailors who developed

scurvy. He divided them into different groups. The group receiving 2 oranges and
1 lemon everyday showed dramatic improvements, the first demonstration that
scurvy was a disease caqsed by dietary deficiency. The group receiving cyder
everyday showed some improvement, other groups did not show much improvement.
------------_--_
 -_--_--------------------_--_ Understanding Nutrition
Lavoisier's contributions demonstrated that biological oxidation of fmds within
the body was very similar to combustion of foods outside, both processes utilizing
0, and producing CO,. He introduced the concept of 'Respiratory Quotienl',
effect of food and exercise on metabolism. The effects of fasting, a post prandial
contribution etc. were performed by Seguin and Lavosier and was published in
1789. Lavoisier is considered as father of modern nutrition.Unforlunately, during
the French Revolution, he was executed.
Another scientist, Williarn Stark pelformed experiments with simple diets on
himself. He used water and bread diet; found that it was n6t even providing
enough energy. Addition of milk, sugar, olive oil was found to contribute to better
health but left him still with nutritional deficiencies providing an indication that the
science of nutrition was still in an early stage and all neccessaq dietary constituents
for health were not known.
In the 19" century, the energy contributions by carbohydrates, proteins and fats
were idenlified. A controversy developed whether [be body can convert
carbohydrates into fat which was resolved subsequently.
It was further established that carbohydrates and fats are preferred fuels, both
at rest and during exercise. The body shifts from one fuel lo the other depending
upon the availabilily of nutrients. By 201"century,the role of minerals and vitamins
were established by Lunirz, Hopkins, and Eijknzan and Funk. The term 'vilanlin'
was coined by Funk by combining vital and ainine.
Let us review the discovery of essential food factors and the expanding frontiers of
nutrition next.

1.3.1 Identification of Food Factors and Discovery of Water Soluble

Vitamins
Nutritional deficiency diseases such as beriberi, pellagra, and scurvy were all known
and described much before the food factors respoilsible for these illnesses were
discovered. Beriberi is reported lo be mentioned in the Chinese ~nedicalbook dating
back to 2697 B.C., but it was only in 1926 A.D., it was established that this illness
was due to the deficiency of a dietary factor present in rice bran. Later, this dietary
factor was identified as thiamin (vitamin B,). Similarly, pellagra and scurvy were
rmpant in the lP1and 1gU1"century but the deficient food factors responsible for
tRese diseases, namely, niacin and ascorbic acid, were identified only in the 1930s.
P&gra was first described in 1930 by Casal in poor peasants consuming inaize diet,
w h ~ kthey associated it with infqtion in cereal during fermentation. But later studies
showbd that it is niacin deficiency which led to pellagra. The discovery of scurvy was
well documented in sea voyages and that it can be cured by c&sumption of h s h
fiuits was well established by the experiments of James.
The four decades from 1910 to 1940, were the golden era of vitamins when thiamin,
niacin and ascorbic acid were isolated from food sources and were shown to result
in complete recovery from the then widely prevalent diseases of beriberi, pellagra and
scurvy. Today these diseases are no longer a public health problem anywhere in the
world.
Dietary recommendations made through the 1920s and the early 30s were based on
limited quantitative information, but it was already recognized by the League of
Nations Health Organization, as well as, the US Department of Agriculture that
scientific knowledge of human requirements for essential nutrients was needed to
provide a reliable base for practical nutrition programmes. The Food and Nutrition
Board of the National Research Cauncil/National Academy of Sciences (NRCNAS)
of USA prepared a set of dietary standards for adequate intakes of nine nutrients in
the year 1941, which was formally adopted at a National Nutrition Conference in the
same year. These were the first set of recommended dietary allowances.
11.3.2 Discovery of other Essential Nutrients
Following the identification of the food factors involved in beriberi, pellagra and
scurvy, the search was on for other water-soluble vitamins. During the years that
followed, we witnessed an expansion in the list of essential nutrients, which currently
stand at about 40 . These include the major energy giving food components, namely,
carbohydrates, proteins and fats (also known as the proximate principles), the water
and fat-soluble vitamins, and the minerals including the trace and ultra trace minerals.
The list of currently known essential nutrients is show11 in Table 1.1.

Table 1.1: Currently known essential nutrients and nutritionally relevant compounds

I. Proteins and amino acids4' 21. Ribloflavin*

2. Carbohydrates:I: 22. Nicotinic acid'''
3. Lipidstk 23. vitamin B;'
4. Water 24. Yantotl~enicacid"'
5. Sodium 25. Biotin'"
6. Potassium 26. Folic acid*
7. Calcium* 27. Vitamin H,:
8. Phosphorous 28. Vitalnil1 C*
9. Magnesium"' 29. Clioline
10. Iron* 30. Carnitine
11. Zinc* 31. InositoI
12. Copper 32. Taurine
13. Selenium* 33. Arsenic
14. Iodinc4: 34. Boron
15. Chromium 35. Manganese
16. Vitan~inA:': 36. Molybdenum
17. Vitanlin D:': 37. Nickcl
18. VitaminE: 38. Silicon
19. Vitamin R" 39. Vanadium
20. Thiamin"' 40. Fluo~ine

" RDAs established Dr tl~eseby the Joi~liFAOIWHO Expert Consultation. I

1.3.3 Expanding Frontiers of Nutrition

While the essential nutrients iilentioned in Table 1.1 are indispellsable and om. diets
need to provide them all in adequate quantities, it has become clear that for healthy
living they are not by themselves enougl~.Other dietary constituents, such as the
pl?yto-chenzicals and anti oxidant substnlzces, are equally important. A deficiellcy
of tltese may not produce overt I-ecognizable symptoms but they are nevertheless
known to play an iinpol-tant role in prevention of degenerative diseases, delaying the
'
adverse and often considered as inevitable consequedces of ageing like cataracts,
blunted menlory and in fie cletoxjficiitionof waste materials or environmental pollutants. ,
Tile present data is sufficient to include these as essential dietary colnpo~lentsbut 1

what is lacking is the information conceimiilg the amounts of these conlpounds that
we need to consullle in our daily diet.
~
I

While on the topic of history of nutrition and expanding lrontiers of nutrition, let us
also look at the developinents in tllc nutrition scenario in India. ' I
I
 1.3.4 The Indian Nutrition Scenario Understnnding Nutrition

Nutrition research in India was pioneered by Dr. Robert Mc Crlrrison. His works
on beriberi and gained attention on the interlinks between nutrition and health. Further
'Nutrition Research L,aboratorys' (NRLs) were established in Coonoor in Southern
India in 1929, a time when the three nutritional deficiency diseases mainly Beriberi,
Scurvy and Pellagra were occupying the attention of nut~itionscientists every where.
Notable British scielltists such as Dr. Passmore inade significant contributions in the
initial 10 years. Dr: Wallcrce Aykyvod as the director of these laboratrjes contributed
meaningful research for inlproving the nutritional status of vulnerable groups in I~lclia.
(
Infromation on Nutritive Value of Indian Foods was first published in 1937 by
DI: Aykroyrl. This booldet popularly known as Health Bulletin No, 23 has undergone
1
several revisions and currently is the bcst known resource to llutrition scientists as
far as the nutritive value of lnclisul Foods are concerned. Following this an excjAlent
I
tradition of nutrition research primarily focused on finding solutions to our major
I
nutritional problems has been clevelopecl and passed on to the present generation by
stalverts like Dl: V N . Pntwlrrcl/zan, Dl: C. Gopcllml, DI:V K~a~lcrlinga.s~rmm?/, and
DI: SG Srikr~ntiuto nalne a few. The NRL was shil'ted 10 Iiyderabad in 1966 and
was renamed as 'National Institute of Nutrition', (NIN), an apcx body ad~ninistcred
by the ICMR that coordinates nutl.itiori rcsearch in India.

Recent advances in cellular antl inoieculnr biology have opened llcw avcnucs lor
research in nutrition. Various interactive fields llavc Oecn devclopcd bctwcen nutrition
on one hand and in~munology,neurosciences, genetics elc, on the otbcr as [he nlajor
thrust areas for understancling the major nutritional problellls of the country, and
contributing to meaningful research. Thus, NIN along with other research i~lstit~itio~ls
is developing locally relevant solutiolls to cornbat various nutritional disorders in the
country. Major contributions have been on iron clef'icicncy anaemia, vitamin A conlrol
plugranme, iluorosis, lathyrism, iocline deSicicncy tlisordet-s (IDD). To con~batfur
~na~jor losses, fortification programmes are being develop,ed. This has bee11 achievcd
because of the major understanding about the physiological role of a nutrient and jts
r-iletabolic influences on hcalth.

'The history of nutrition reviewed above is su~nmarizcdherewith under poil~lsto

rei-ilember. Do read the111 cru-crully.

POINTS TO REMEMBER
History of Nu triiion
The first rccolnmendations R,r energy antl protein requirements were made ill the
year 1826. The yews 1910 to I940 witnessed the discovery of thiamin, niacin
ascorbic acid and several other wutcr soluble vitamins ancl led to the dietary
prevention of beriberi, scurvy and pellagra. The last three decades of the 20"'
century has ushered in a new era of expanding frontiers of nutrition, with a major
focus on diet as the sheet alichor of prevention or age and life style related
chronic degenerative diseases.

With this basic review of histo~yof nutrition we shall now tuln our attention towards
understanding die basic concepts of h~unannutritional requirements.

1.4
- NUTRITIONAL REQUIREMENTS
Nutritional requirements are defined as 'intake levels c$ riutrieizts tlznt nzeet
speciJied criteria of adequacy suclz as riorrnal growth, prevention qf deficielzcy
signs, and lnnintenance of tissue pools of nutrients, and ut tlze Same time,
preventing tlae risk q f deficiency or excess.' The concepts III relation to human
nutritional recluirements are defined next in this section.
I Advance Nutrition
1.4.1 Definition of Concepts in Relation to Human Nutritional
Requirements
In this sub-section we will understand a few basic concepts that are related to
nutritional requirements. Go through these carefully and understand the concept, as
you proceed further.

A) Probability concept of requirements vs risk of deficient and excess intake

Figure 1.2 best illustrates the concept of a requirement for an essential nutrient.
The relationship between the level of intakes and the probability that the intake
is deficient or excess, is portrayed in this Figure. As you may have noticed, the
estimated average requirement (EAR) is the intake at which the risk of the
inadequacy is 0.5 (50 percent) to an individual. The intake at which the risk of
inadequacy is judged to be essentially zero is taken as the requirement for that
nutrient. As the intake rises above this level, a point is reached when risk of
excess exceeds zero. The range between the intake level at which risk of
deficiency is zero and the point at which the risk of excess rises above zero is
taken as the 'safe range of intakes'. This concept is utilized in deriving the
recommended dietary intakes (RDAs) and the upper intake level (UL) for all
the nutrients except energy. Why this concept is not used in deriving energy
requirements is discussed in Unit 2 on Energy Requirements.

EAR RDA IJL

0
Increasing lntuke

Figure 1.2: Relation between level of dietary intake of an essential nutrient and probability
that intake is inadequate 01- excess
Having understood the probablity concept of requirements, let us now turn our attention
to other factors that are determinants of nutrient requirements.

B ) Age, sex and body weight are the determinants of nutrient requirernerzts
Age sex, and the body weight influence nutrient requirements. Let us see how.
a Age: Requirements change with increasing age between birth and maturity.
Nutrient requirements per unit body weight are higher during growth and they
decrease.after growth has ceased. For e.g., the energy requirement of an infant
is 103 Kcal per kg body weight, while for a sedentary adult male it is only 38
Kcal per kg body weight. Similarly, the protein requirement for an infant 9-
12 mths is 1.5 g per kg, while that of an adult is l g per kg body weight.
Requirements increase during pregnancy as the foetus grows. In lactation, the
requirements increase in proportion to the amount of milk secreted. At ages of
40 and beyond, there is a decline in the lean body tissue and a decline in
activities, both of which result in a decline in the energy requirements. However,
this is not accompanied by a reduction in the nutrient requirements due to a
reduced efficiency of gastrointestinal function with ageing. We will learn more
about these issues later in [his course.
Sex: There are some differences in requirements between the two sexes.
However, except for iron, these are apparent rather than real, as the differences
disappear when the requirements are expressed per unit of body weight. In the
 case of iron, between menarche and menopause, the iron requirements of females Understanding Nutrition
are more than that of'males due to menstrual losses of blood in women.
Body weight: Requirements are considered to be a function of body weight for.
individuals who are not overweight. However, for some nutrients, requirements
are not propoftional to body weight. The general procedure for those who
deviate from the normal weight is to adjust the requirements to their actual body
weights. For overweight and obese individuals lean body weight may be used
, instead of the total body weight. Related to the concept of requirements being
a function of body weight is the concept of defining a reference man and a
woman.
Reference man and reference woman: The reference man and woman are
defined as points of reference only. For Indians, a reference man is defined as
'a man between 20-39 years of age, with a body weight of 60 kg, free from
disease and physically fit for active work. On each working day, he is engaged
for 8 hours in an occupation that involves moderate activities. While not at work,
he spends 4-6 hours sitting and moving about, 2 hours in active recreation and
8 hours in sleep'. A reference woman is defined as a healthy woman of 20-
39 years, with a body weight of 50 kg, engaged for 8 hours in an occupatioil
involving moderate activities, and while not at work spends 4-6 hours sitting and
moving about, 2 hours in active recreation and 8 hours in sleep. Nutrient
requirements are defined for the reference man and woman, and for those who
deviate from the reference man and woman, adji~stmentsare made for the
different body weights. Table 1.2 presents the RDA for different nutrients for
Indians. Study these requirements closcly.
Besides age, sex and body weight there are other factor which influences the
requirement, which are highlighted next.
C) Individual variability of requirements
Nutritional requirements, like many other biological characteristics, vary for
different individuals', arising due to inherent diffe ences between individuals.
Two adult men with the same body weight can have different requirements for
energy <andother nutrients. The distribution of requirement for proteins of adults
is illustrated in Figure 1.3. l'his distribution is called 'Ccrussian 'or 'izonnal
distribtition'. We have only limited data on the distribution of nutrient requirements,
Therefore, it cannot be said that all requirement distributions follow the norinal
distribution as illustrated in Figme 1.3. Iron requirements for females, for example,
are a highly negatively skewed distribution (portraying the likelihood that a given
level of usual intake is inadequate to meet the true needs) as shown in Figure
1.4. However, in the absence of adequate data for many nutrients about the
requirement distribution, an assuinption is made that for all nutrients except iron,
the requirements are normally distributed i.e. they follow a Gaussian distribution.
PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS OF MEN '

T ER

USUAL PROTEIN INTAKE (Ci/D)

Figure 1.3: Pratein requirement for men
15

r
Advance Nutrition
 Understanding Nutrition
(Dietary avnilabili ty-15%)
-

USUAL IRON INTAKE (MGID)

011 1':'10/k/H710
UN.VL'~

Figure 1.4: Iron requirement for wonicn

When the requirement distribution is normal, the quantitative requirement for a nutrient,
for 95% to 99.9% of individuals in a populatio~lgroup, fall between the mean + 2 S.D.
and mean t3 SD. Refer to Figure 1.5. As the norinal distribution is syinnletrical,
50% of individuals in a group will have requiren~entsbelow the inean a i d another
50% will have requirelneilts above the mean. Individual variability is often expressed
as coefficient of variation (CV), that is, 'standard deviation expressed as a percentage
of the inean'. For inost biologic vmiables, including nutrient requirements, CV is
about 15%.

Figure 1.5: Tlie standard normnl distribution

Based on the above properties of the normal distribution, you can see that the
quantitative nutrient requiremeilts of practically all individuals in a specified life stage
and gender group will be covered by the inean -i-2 SD. This concept is used in
deriving the reconllnetlded dietary allowatices and safe levels of req~lirements.
Next, let us study about bioavailability as a factor influencing requirements.
D) Bioavailability of nritrie~zts
The amount of many nutrients needed in the diet depends on the absorption or
bioavailability of the nutrients. Bioavailability is defined as 'the percent of the dietpry
~zutrientabsorbed and utilized for a specific jirnction by the body'. The percent
absorption'varies widely for different nutrients depending on the quantities ingested
l
and the presence of other constituents of the diet. Examples are: iodine absorption
is nearly loo%, calcium absorption in a normal adult is about 40% to 60% while that
of iron varies from 1% to 15% , depending on the type of iron and other constituents
of the diet.
The concept of bionvailability is best illustrated by iron, Iron is present as inorganic
iron in vegetarian foods and as organic iron iln meat and flesh foods, The inorganic
form of the iron, as you inay already be aware, is known as 'non-lzaem iron' while
the organic forin is known as haern iron. The 'non-haem iron'' nt;sorption is affected
by several constituents of the diet while hnem iron absorption is relatively independent
of these constituents as you would learn later in Unit 10 of this course.
Advance Nutrition The dietay constituents that inhibit non-haem iron absorption are many: phytates
present in the outer layer of cereal grains, tannins in tea, calcium in foods, and
oxalates in leafy vegetables, are all inhibitors of iron absorption and reduce the
absorption from a vegetarian diet. On the contrary, vitamin C present in fruits and
vegetables and sulphur containing amino acids and a factor in meat and flesh foods
enhance iron absorption. The net absorption of iron from a vegetarian diet depends
on the relative amounts of the inhibitors and enhancers in the diet. If the diet is
predominantly vegetarian and has high amounts of inhibitors, the absorption,of iron
may be as low as 1% and if the proportion of enhancers is high, the absorption could
rise to 5 tolO%.The recoinmended amounts of nutrients, include a correction for
bioavailabiIity wherever relevant. An example is provided in Table 1.3 for iron and
zinc.

Having gone through the discussicin above we hope the few basic concepts that are
related to nutritiona1 requirements must be clear and well understood. Next, we shall
review a few basic terminologies that you would come across while studying about
nutritional requirements. '

1.4.2 Basic Terminology in Relation to Nutritional Requirements

By now you would have a good understanding that nutricnt rcquirernents are affected
by a number of factors and in order to have adequate nutrient intakes these factors
have to be take; into consideration for different population groups. You will recall that
earlier we defined positive health as not merely freedom from diseases but a state
of complete physical and mental health. In a similar manner, nutrient requirements
should be such as to promote optimuin health rather then merely to prevent nutritional
deficiency disease. There are differences in the level of requirements ,for prevention
of deficiency diseases v/s promotion of positive health. Let us now get SamiIiar with
the basic teilninologies to describe these.

Adinimum Requiremerzt: Minimum nutrient requirement is defined as. the 'lowest

amount of the nutrient ji-om the diel that will prevent clinically detectable
impainne~ztin funclion'. For example, it has been established hrough experimental
studies that an intake of 10 mg of ascorbic acid will prevent the occurrence of scurvy
in individuals, and therefore the miniinurn requirement of ascorbic acid is 10 mg per
day; however, it is highly undesirable to subsist on minimum requirement on a continuing
basis. We.should strive on a daily basis to meet the lowest intakes that would assure
positive health rather than merely protect us from frank nutritional disease. In other
words, we should strive for the safe level or the RDA rather than the minimuin
requirement.

Maintenance Requirement: This is defined as 'the amount of nutrient that is

needed to replhce the wear and tear of the tissues within the body in a healthy
individual'. This does not take into accouilt tlle need for growth or for replacement
of body tissues in a person recovering from illness.

Safe Requirement: Given the itldividual variations in nutritional requirements that

have been discussed earlier, the lowest continuing intake level of a nutrient to satisfy I

good health varies from one individual to another. In practice, we want to set up
requirements that would meet the needs of most people and will be safe at the same I

time for all. For defining the safe requireinent, we use the statistical probability 1
concept that was defined earlier in sub-section 1,4.1 and in Figure 1.2. 'The lower
and upper limit of the range of intake in which the risk of hndeq~iacy,as well
as, the risk of excess is zero is taken as tlze rrmge qf safe reqrdire;nent.' Ii
Subsistence Allowance: These estimates are also called survival recluirements and
are of value during emergency or natural calamities such as earthquskes etc. I-Ience,
when there is a crisis and whole population is involved, the people are fed ,on such
I
!
 -
.-
0

.
.-k
C

TFablte 1.3: Recommended Nutrient Intakes Minerals* -

* For tlie purposes of the coinposite tables of RNI vaIues, the body weights used ~versderived &on1 the 50th percentile of NCHS data until adult weight of 55 kg for
females and 65 kg for rnale~~erereached. yr
Tlle~7eightsusedare the followini: 0-61no=6 kg; 7-l2mo = 8.9 kg: 1-3 = 12.1 kg; 4-6yr = 18.2 kg; 7-9yr =25.2k9; 10-1 l
33.4kg; 10-11 yr F=34.8lig; 12-1Syr M=55.1 kg; 12-15yr F=50.6kg; 10-18yr M=55.1 kg; 10-18yr F=50.6kg; 19-65yr M=6Skg; 19-65yr F=55kg.
yr~=
Table 1.3 Contd
NOTES
MiPlevals
(a) Human breast milk
(b) Infant fonnula

Calcium:
[c) The data usedin developing calciumRNIs originate from developed cormtries, and there is controversy as to their appropriatenessfor developingcountries. This notion
also holds true for most nutrients, but basedon curreutknowledge, the impact appears to be most marked For calcium.
(d) Particularlyduring the growth spurt.

Zinc:
(e) Human-milk fed infants only.
[f) Formula-fed infants, moderate zinc bio-availability.
{g) Formula fed-infants.10~zincbio-a~lailabilipdue to infant consumption ofphytaterich cerealsandvegetable protein based fonnula.
(h) Pu'ot applicable to infants consuming human milkonly.

Iron:
(i) There is evidence that iron absorption can be significantlyenhanced when each meal contains a rni~liwnof 25 mg of Viramin C, assuming three meals per day. There is
especially trueifthere are iron absorption iuhibitorsin the diet suchas phytate or tannins.
(k) Neonael iron stores me sufficient to meet the iron requirelnent for the first six months in Full tern1 infmts. Premature infants and low birth weight infants require
additional iron.
(I) Bio-availabilityofdietary ironduringthisperiodva~lesgreatly.
(m) Non-menstruatingadolcscet~ts.
(n) It is recommended that iron supplements in tablet from the @vmto all prepant woman because of the difficultiesin correctly evaluatingiron status in pregnancy. In the
non-anae~nicpregnant wornan, &ailysupplementsof 100mg of iron (i.e. as fcrrous subhate) giver] dui-ing the second half of pregnancy are adequate. In anaemic Wornan
higher doses are usually rec~uired.

Iodine:
(0) Data expressed on a per kgbody weight basis is sometimes preferred, and this data is as follows:
premature infants= 30 pgflcglday infants 0-12 months = 19 p_&gIday
children 1-6 years= 6 pgikglday children 7-11 =4 pgikg/day
adolescents and adults 12+years =2 pglkgiday pregnancy and lactation = 3.5 pg/kg/day

(pj lnview ofthe high variability in body weights at these ages the RNIs are exp.iessedasnlgikgbody weightlday. ,
allowance. Such an intake allows only minimum movement and is not compatible for Understanding Nutrition
long tern health and makes no allowance for the energy needed to earn a living or
prepare food. Long intake of diets of such value shows deficiency as the minimum
requirements are not met, and hence can prove to be fatal. i
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA): The recommended dietary allowances
are defined as the 'daily dietaly intake level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient
requireqents of nearly all healthy individuals in a particular life stage and
gender group'. The RDA is derived from the statistical distribution of requirements
for nutrients. It is generally assumed that nutrient requirements are distributed normally.
With this kind of distribution, as already mentioned in sub-section 1.4.1, the requirements
of 97 to 98% of individuals in a given population group will be below the mean plus
two standard deviations. Thus, inean + 2 SD will cover the requirements of practically
all individuals in that population group and is designated as the RDA for that particular
nutrient. This approach is used for deriving the RDA for all nutrients except energy.
The RDA is intended for use primarily as a goal for usual intakes. Recornntenrled
Nutrient Intakes (RNIs), is another term colllmonly used to describe nutrient
requirements and is equivalent to RDA.

Dietaly Reference Intakes: Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are relatively new to
the field of nutrition. The DRIs are a set of four nutrient-based reference values, that
can be used for planning and evaluation of diets of individuals and population groups
and are ineant to replace the former RDAs of the US and RNIs of Canada. The
DRIs are different from the RDAs and RNIs in three respects. These include:

1) Where specific data on safety and efficacy exist, reduction in the risk of chronic
degenerative diseases is included in the fornitilation of the reference intakes
rather than using only the absence of signs of deficiency.
2) Where data are adequate, upper levels of intake to prevent adverse consequences
of excess are established i.e. the upper levels will tell you not to exceed these
at usual $takes, and ,
3) Components of food that may not fit the traditional concept of an essential
nutrient but nevertheless are shown to have beneficial effects for human health
are reviewed, and if data permit, DRIs are established for these.
The four nutrient reference values are described below:

a) The Estimated Average Intake (EAR): Considering that the nutrient requirements
follow a normal distribution, the EAR is defined as 'the median usual intake
that meets the requirement of half of the healthy individuals in a given life
stage and gender group.'
Note: Earlier RDA has used mean rather than the median.
At this level, the other half of the individuals will not meet their requirements.
The EAR is based on specific c iterion of adequacy, derived from a review of
the literature. Reduction of disease risk is considered along with other health
parameters in the selection of this criterion. EAR is used to calculate RDA.
b) RDA: The RDA is the average daily dietary intake that is sufficient to meet the
nutrient requirement of nearly all healthy individuals in a particular.liie stage and
gender group. Under assumption of normality of the distribution of requirements,
the RDA can be calculated from the EAR and the standard deviation of
requirements as follows:
Recommended Dietary Intake = Estimated Average Intake + 2 SD requirement
The ,RDA is intended to be used as a goal for usual intakes from the diet. Since
RDA is established from EAR, if data are inadequate to estimate the EAR, no
RDA can be established, In such cases, the adequate intake (N),as described
next, is used as the goal. .
Advance Nutrition
C ) Adequate Intoke (AI): If sufficient data are not available to establish an EAR
and hence RDA, the A1 is derived instead. The A1 is derived from observations
of nutrient int'akes by a group of apparently healthy individuals who are maintaining
a defined nutritional state or criterion of adequacy. Criteria of adequacy include
normal growth, maintenance of normal levels of nutrients in plasma or general
health. The mean observed intake of this group of healthy individuals of a
particular life stage and gender is taken as the AI. While A1 can be used as a
goal for individual intake, it has only limited use in assessment. As and when
more data become available, the A1 will be replaced with RDAs.
It must be noted here that A1 represents an informed judgment ab0u.t what
appears to be an adequate intake for an individual based on available information.
On the other hand, RDA is data;based and is a statistically relevant estimate of
the required level of intake of the nutrient for almost all individuals. For this
reason, A1 must be used with caution.
d) The Upper Level (UL): The UL is 'the highest contirzuing level of daily
nutrient intake tlznt is likely to pose no risk .of adverse health efSects in
almost all individuals, in the specified life stage group'.
Note: The UL is not intended to be a recommended level of intake. It serves the
purpose of warning people that levels higher than UL are going to be associated with
adverse health effects and therefore should be avoided.

The concepts discussed above are summarized in the points to remember below.
Read them caref~illy.

POINTS TO REMEMBER
Concepts and Definitions in Relation to Nutrient Requirements
1) The probability concept describes the relationship between the levels of
intake and the probability of risk of inadequate and excess intakes.
2) The range of intake in which there is zero probability of risk of deficiency
and risk of excess is known as the safe requirement range.
3) Age, sex and body weight are determinants of nutrient requiremerits.
4) Nutrient requirements vary for different individuals due to genetic
differences. The individual variations q e described by the term coefficient
of variation which is the standard deviation expressed as a percent of the
mean requirement.
5) Mean +, 2 SD is the recommended allowance for a nutrient, which
meets the needs of 97 to 98% of the individuals in a life stage and gender
group. For energy only the mean is taken as the RDA.
6) Bioavailability of nutrients must be taken into account while making
recommendations for nutrient requirements.,
7) The basic terms used in relation to nutrient requiren~entsare minimum
requirements, safe allowances, recommended dietary allowances,
dietary reference intakes.

Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) List the major determinants of nutrient requirements.
.....-..........a ..................................................................................

~ . ~ . L . . . . . ' . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . , , , , , . . . .

............ . . . . . . . * . . . . ... . . .. ...............,...........,....................

......-.......-....
~'~~~..~.~'.................~........................,................,....,.*,,,...,,..,.,.,.,..,......,,
 Understanding Nutrition
2) Briefly explain the concept of bioavailability of nutrients.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
, .
3) Are the miniinurn nutrient requirements same as maintenance requirements?
Explain.
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
4) What is meant by RDA? How can we calculate it?
.....................................................................................................................
.............................................................................................................
, 5) Write short notes on:
a) Estimated Average Intake
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
b) Adequate Intake
....................................................................................... ...................
. .
...................................t..,.....,.....................,.......,...........r.,....rr..,,.,

c) Upper Level
.....................................................................................................................
.................................................................................................................. w

With a basic understanding on nutrient requirements, next we shall study the'several

methods used for estimating the nutrient requirements.

1.5 NIETHODS FOR STUDYING THE NUTRIENT

REQUIREMENTS
Several methods have been used 'for studying the nutrient requirements, They range
from observational methods like population survey of dietary intake$ to experimental
methods involving nutrient balance and nutrient turn over. These are described herewith.

1.51 Population Survey of Dietary Intakes of Nutrients

The basis of this method rests on the premise that average dietary intake of nutrients
by healthy members of a group of individuals at a specific life stage and gender
represents the requirement of this group. This was the only method available for a
long time to estimate the nutrient needs. All early recommendations were based on
this method. The limitations of the method are that since the average is calculated
from usual intakes of healthy individuals eating to appetite, the method can both over
Advance Nutrition or underestimate the requirements. The limitation of this method is best illustrated by
the early recoinmendations for protein. The first ever recommendation that was
formally adopted put the protein requirement of adult man as 80 g per day. Soine
years later, Chittenden, a German nutrition scientist based on experiments on himself
recoinmended that for good health, an adult man required no inore than 50 g protein
per day.

1.5.2 Growth Studies

Nutrient requirements of infants and young children are estimated by studying the
rate of growth of healthy children and the deposition of nutrients in the body. Estimation
of protein needs of children is an example of this method. The weight gain of infants
and children and the nitrogen content of the body at different ages are used in
estimating the protein needs of children.

1.5.3 Depletion and Repletion Studies

This is an experimental procedure in which volunteer subjects are kept on a diet
devoid of a particular nutrient, until such a time when they develop overt clinical signs
of deficiency of the nutrient. The lowest level of the nutrient that reverses the clinical
symptoms in all volunleer subjects is the minimum requirement for that nutrient.

T h e minimum requirement for some B vitamins and ascorbic acid has

been determined through this method.

1.5.4 Nutrient Balance Studies

The ingested nutrients are metabolically converted into end products that are eliminated
from the body through urine, faeces and sweat. Soine of the nutrients are extensively
catabolized while others may undergo minimal changes. For example, dietary proteins
are converted into nitrogenous compounds and eliminated. The major nitrogenous
compound of protein catabolism is urea that is excreted primarily in the urine. The
vitamins are converted into incompletely oxidized forms while the minerals like Ca
are excreted as such.
We can study the amount of the nutrient ingested and the amount excreted from
which the nutrient balance can be calculated as follows:
I
Amount of Nutrient Ingested - Amount Excreted = Amount Retained I

The balance is usually zero in adults and positive in growing children, indicating
replacement 6f wear and tear needs in adults and retention for growth and tissue 1

development in children.
Using this concept we can study the lowest average intake that is necessary to
maintain zero balance in adults that will represent the maintenance requirement.
Maintenance of protein requirements have been estimated this way. Calcium balance
studies have been herformed to arrive at the requirements for calcium.

1.5.5 Use of Isotopically Labeled Nutrients: Nutrient Turnover

I
Radioactive labeled nutrients are used to know the total body pool and the compartinent
in which it is stored. The pool that falls below a certain level shows deficiency.
These are used ta estimate how much nutrient is lost on a daily basis. Let us consider i
/an example of iron. 9 I
I
Isotopically labeled iron has been used in estimating the iron requirements for different
groups. Ingested iron is absorbed and incorporated into red cells; complete incorporation
occurring in 15 days time. A small dose of radio labeled iron is mixed with the diet
and two measurements are made; the basal radioactivity of the blood before ingesting
, the radio labeled diet and radioactivity of red cells after 15 days of ingesting the diet. I

From the retained radioactivity, the amount absorbed and requirements are calculated. I
1.5.6 Obligatory Losses of Nutrients Understanding Nutrition

Obligatory losses of nutrient are delined as 'the losses that occur wlzelz an individual
is put on a diet free of that nutrient'. For example, when we are on a protein free
diet, we continue to lose protein in the foim of urinary urea and other nitrogenous
compounds. Within 5 to 6 days on a protein free diet, the total nitrogen losses as urea
and other compounds stabilize to a low and constant value. The amount of dietary
protein needed to replace these losses has been experimentally determined. These
represent the maintenance requirement for protein in an adult. This method, however,
has been discarded as it represents a non-physiological state.

The various methods discussed above are sunmarized in points to remember herewith.

POINTS TO REMEMBER
Methods for Studying the Nutrient Requiren~ents
1) Population survey of nutrient int'akes of healthy individuals is one method of
estimating nutrient requirements. The average intake by healthy individuals
in a particular life stage and gender group represents the requirement lor
that group, Currently this method is used only when there is not adequate
data on requirement distribution in population groups.
2) For infants and clzildren, growth and body weight gain has been used along
with the nutrient composition of body tissues to a~riveat the nutrient
requirements.
3) Experimental methods such as depletion and repletion of nutrients and nutrient
turnover studies have helped in determining the minimum requirements and
recommended allowances.
4) Solme methods like the obligatory losses which were used at one time for
estimating the maintenance requirements of nutrients are no longer in use
as they represent a no11 physiological state.

Now that we have understood about the nutrient requirements and how they are
estimated, let us get to know about the national and the international recormnendations
for the nutrient requirements.
6

1.6 NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NUTRIENT
REQUIREMENTS
Various nutrition institutes and research and professional organizations in India and all
over world have given recommendations for the nutrient requirements for their
population groups and for people of all ages. Let us review some of these
recommendations.

1.6.1 Recommendations for Indians by the Indian Council of

Medical Research (ICMR)
The Indian Council of Medical Research in its recent "Nutrient Requirements and
Recommended Dietary Allowance for Indians"(l990 reprinted in 1998), has made
recommendations for energy, protein, fat, two minerals namely caldium (Ca) and
iron: one fat soluble vitamin ,vitamin A, and 7 water soluble vitamins namely thiamin,
riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid, pyridoxine, folic acid and vitamin B,,. These are
shown in Table 1.2 earlier. The recommendations are made for different life stages,
and gender groups separately.
Advance Nutrition These RDAs have been derived from average nutrient requirements for each group
estimated by one of the methods mentioned under section 1.5. The RDA takes into
account the variation that exists between individuals by choosing a level that is 2
standard deviations higher than the average requirement so that the requirements of
97'to 98% of individuals in a given age, sex and physiological group are met. It thus
aims at meeting the requirements of nearly all individuals' in a population group.
This approach, however, is not used for energy requirements. The aGerage requirement
for energy is taken as the RDA. The reason for this is that consumption of other
nutrients in excess of requirement, to the tune of 2 SD is not associated with any
adverse effects whereas consumption of energy even in small excess over requirement
for a period of time can lead to overweight and obesity.
The RDA also takes into account nutrient bioavailability as in the case of iron. The
bioavailability of iron in Indian diets is approximately 3% and the RDAs for adult
men, children and adolescent boys are based on this level of bioavailability.

The underlying principle of all RDAs is worth recalling here again. The RDAs
are meant to be used as a goal for dietary intakes on a continuing basis, so that
practically all individuals in a life stage and gender group will be protected from '

inadequate intakes of nutrients and thus would be in a position to maintain good

health.
The RDAs are not meant to be used as a standard for dete~miningwhether an
individual requirement has been met. Individuals with intakes lower than the RDA
are not necessarily at risk, if their requirements are less than the RDA, which
they are for many.

1.6.2 FAONVHO Expert Committee Recommendations

The FAO/WHO/LTNU joint Expert committee makes recommendations for nutrient
requirements periodically, revising them as and when more data becomes available.
The most recent recommendations on vitamin, mineral requirement and energy
requirements were published in 2002 and 2004, respectively. The Recommended
Nutrient Intakes for the minerals such as. calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, iron
and iodine and for the fat soluble vitamins , A, D, E, and K and the water soluble
vitamins, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B,, pantothenic acid, biotin, folic acid,
vitamin B,,, and vitamin C are shown in Table 1.3 and 1.4, respectively along*with
some explanatory notes. We will learn about the energy requirements in the next unit,
Along with the WHO/FAO/UNU recommendations, we have also reviewed the
dietary reference intake for population groups in US and Canada and provide valuable
information on upper intake limits in the next sub-section.

1.6.3 Dietary Reference Intakes for US and Canada

Dietary Reference Intakes has been published by the National Academy Press for
the Food and Nutrition Board and the Institute of Medicine, Washington DC, USA.
These are meant to be used as goals for intake in North America. Four nutrient based
values are defined; these are estimated average intake, recom~nei~ded dietary I "

allowances, adequate intake and tolerable upper levels as described earlier in sub-
section 1.4.2. The EAR and RDA carry the same meaning as the average intake and
RDA of the Indian Reference values. Also, the Recommended Nutrient Intakes of 1

FAOrWHO and RDA of the DRI are similar in concept. TWOother values pot
included in the India11 recommendations and the FAOMrHO expert coinmittee
recommendations are the A1 &d the UL. The significance of these has already been'
explained earlier in sub-section 1.4.2.
 Table 1.4: Recommended nutrient intakes (mg) - water and fat soluble vitamins*

* For the purposes of these corilposite tables of RNI values, the body weights used were derived from the 5Uth percentile of NCHS data until adult weight of 55 kg f&
females and 65 kg for males were reached. The weights used are the following: 0-61110 = 6 kg; 7-12mo = 8.9 kg; 4-6yo = 18.2 kg; 7-9yo = 25.2 kg; 10-11 yo M = 33.4 kg;
10-11 yoF=34.8kg; 12-I8yoM=55.1 kg; 12-18yoF=50.6kg; 10-18yoM=55.1kg; 10-18yoF='50.6kg;19-65y~M=65kg; 19-65yoF=55kg.
Table 1.4 Contd
NOTES - Hfamirts

Niacin:
(a) NE= niacin equivalents, 60-to-1 conversionfactor for tryptophan to niacin.
{b) Prefonned niacin.

Folate:
(c) DFE = diet& folate equivalents, mg of DFE provided = [pgof food folate +.(I .7xpg of synthetic folk acid)]

VitaminC:
(d) An RNI of 45 mg was calculated for adult men and women and 55 mg recommended during pregnancy. it is rccognised however that larger a~llountswould promote
greater iron absorption ifthis can be achieved.
(e) An additional25 mg is needed for lactation.

Vitamin A:
(f) Vitamin Avalues are "recommended safe intakes" insteadof RNls. This level of intake is set to prevent clinical signs of deficiency, allow normal growth, but does not
allow for prolonged periods ofinfections or other stresses.
(g) Recommendedsafe intakes as pg REIday; 1 pgretinol= 1 pg RE; 1 pg p-carotene= 0.1 67 pg RE; 1 pg other provitamin A carotenoids=0.084 pg RE.
Vitamin E:
( g ) Data were considered insufficient to formulate recommendations for this vitamin so that "acceptable intakes" are listed instead. This represents the best estimate of
requirements. based on the currently acceptableintakes that suppofl the known function ofthis vitamin.
(i) For pregnancy and lactation there is no evidence of requirements for Vitamin E that are any different fro111those of older adults. Increased energy intake during
pregnancy and lactationis expected to compelisate for increased need for infant growth andmilksynthesis. Breastmiik substitute shouldnot contain less than 0.3mg a-
tocopheralequivalents (TE)/lOOml ofreconstitutedproducf andnotless than0.4rngTElgPbTA.Humanbreast milkvitamin E is constant at 2.7 mg for 850 ml ofnilk.
(k) Values based on aproportion ofthe adults acceptable intakes.

VitaminK:
(1) The RNI for each agegroup is based on a daily intake of 1 pg lkglday ofphylloquinone, the latter being the major dietary source of vitamin K.
(m) This intake cannot be met by hEants who are exclusively breast-fed. To prevent bleeding due to vitamin K deficiency,all breast fed babies should receive vitamin K
suppiementationat birth according to nationally approved guidelines.

(NCHS data source: WHO, Measuring Change in Nutritional Status. Guidelines for Assessing the Nutritional Impact of Supplementary Feeding Progra~nn~es
for Vulnerable
Groups, U'orld Health Organization,1983)
 Points to remember given next summarizes the information presented in this section. Understanding Nutrition
So read it carefully.
For further information on these recommendations you may want to look up the
following web site:

POINTS TO REMEMBER
1) The Indian Council of Medical Research has formulated recommended
. dietary allowances for the following nutrients for different age, sex and
physiological groups.
Energy
.Protein
Fat
Calcium
Iron
Vitamin A
Thiamin
Riboflavin
Niacin
Pyridoxin
e Ascorbic acid
Folic acid
Vitamin B,,.
2) These recommended allowances for all nutrients except energy are the
mean requirement +2 SD, keeping in line with the probability approach.
3) The other two sets of recommended allowances described in this section
are the ones by the joint FAOIWI-I0 expert group and the dietary reference
intakes for USA and Canada.

The nutrient requirements described as RDA serve several purposes and are used
by the Food and AgricuLtural Ministries in different countries quite extensively. As a
student you may be looking at these requirements for evaluating intakes at the
community or population level but the application of RDA goes beyond this.
We will tell you something about the application of RDA's in the next section.
-

1.7 GOALS OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL

REQUIREMENT ESTIMATES AND RDAs
One of the goals of the RDAs has been reiterated through this unit. They serve as
the guidelines for continuing dietary intakes that healthy people should strive for on
a day to day basis, in order to maintain good health. Apart from this, there are other
I
goals. These are:
1) Planning for national food supplies,
2) Planning for #emergencyrations,
3) Providing information on food fortification,
4) Evaluation of nutrient adequacy at individual and group level, and
5) Modifying nutrient requirements in clinical management of diseases,
Besides nutrient requirements you will come across dietary guidelines published now
and then related to specific diseases conditions or for good health, We shall end our
study of this unit with a brief review on these dietary guidelines.
Advance Nutrition
1.8 DIETARY GUIDELINES
Dietary Guidelines are becoming increasingly powerful tools to help the general public
to appreciate the role of diet in,prevention of degenerative diseases associated with
ageing, affluence and environmental degradation. Unlike the RDAs, which provide
information on nutrient requirements in quantitative terms, the dietary guidelines are
qualitative and the purpose is not so much to help people to get the nutrients as per
RDA but to facilitate people to choose diets that are health promoting and disease
preventing. While there is only one set of nutrient requirements and RDAs for each
country, there can be several dietary guidelines for people within a country.
Many countries have come up with Food based Dietary Guidelines appropiiate to
their culture and food habits. In India, there are at least two sets of Dietary Guidelines
that have been published to help the general public at large. The first by the National
Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad and the second by the Department of Women and
Child Development, of the.h.linistry of Human Resources. Interested students can
obtain these from the respective institutions.
. .
With this we end our study of this unit. Try to answer the questions included in the
check your progress exercise 2 to recapitulate what you have learnt so far.
t

Check Your Progress Exercise 2

1) What are the assumptions taken into account while estimating RDA?
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
..................r.! .......
.....................1..............'

2) What are the goals behind estimating RDAs?

Give a method by which protein requirements of infants and young children

can be estimated.
. . .

.
f............... ......r..*..........i..i
,

................................. I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I . . . . . . . . . * . * . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

.... ................................................................*.<....................1...........

4) What is the purpose behind setting dietary guidelines?

 Understanding Nutrition
5) Write short notes on:
a) Depletion and Repletion Studies
......................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
b) Nutrient Turnover Studies
.....................................................................................................................
................
.......................................................................................................

.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
................................................................................................................
c) Balance Studies
..............................
. .
.....................................................................................................................
......................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................

1.9 LET US SUM UP

In this unit, we studied about the l~istoricaldevelopment of how nutrition, as a science,
evolved to the present day, the nutrients were identified and discovered. Nutritional
science simply defined is the kilowledge regarding the role of food in maintailling
good health. Good health is not merely freedom froin diseases but is a state of
complete physical and mental well being. Then we l e m t that human nutritional
requirements are quantitative estimates of the amount of nutrients that will meet the
needs of 97 to 98% of individuals in a pLarticularlife stage and gender group with zero
risk of deficiency or excess. The 'mdn concept deriving these nutritional requirements
is a statistical probability concept that relates the intakes to risk of deficiency and
excess.
Finally, the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs), and .the Recommended
Nutrient Intakes (RNIs), derived using the probability concept was presented, intended
to serve as goals for usual daily dietary intakes. The RDAs for Indians by the Indian
Council of Medical Research and the RNIs for the world population by the FAOi
WHO joint consultation are two important reference values that must be remembered.

1 . 1 GLOSSARY
Nutritional requirements : intakelevels of nutrients that met specified criteria
of adequacy such as normal growth, prevention
of deficiency signs, maintenance of tissue pools
of nutrients and preventing the risk of deficiency
or excess.
Advance Nutrition Safe range of intake : the range between the intake level at which risk
of deficiency is zero and the point at which the
risk of excess rises above zero.

Reference man : a man between 20-39 years of age, with a body

weight of 60 kg., free from disease and physically
fit for active work. On each working day, he is
engaged for 8 hours in an occupation that involves
moderate activities. While not at work, he spends
4-6 hours sitting and inoving about, 2 hours in
active recreation and 8 hours in sleep.

Reference woman : a healthy woman of 20-39 years, with a body

weight of 50 kg, engaged for 8 hours in an
occupation involving moderate activities, and while
not at work speilds 4-6 hours sitting and moving
about, 2 hours in active recreation and 8 hours in
sleep.
0

Coefficient of variation : standard deviation expressed as a percentage of

mean.
Standard deviation : a statistical measure of the distance, which a
quantity is kikely to lie from its average value/ a
measure of the extent to which numbers are
spread around their average.
Bioavailability : the percent of the dietary nutrient absorbed and
utilized for a specific f~~nction
by the body.

Non-haem Iron : the inorganic form of the iron.

Haem-iron : the organic form of the iroil.

Minimum nutrient : the lowest ainouilt of nutrient froin the diet that
requirement will prevent clinically detectable impairment of
function.
Maintenance requirement : the anount of nutrient that is needed to replace
the wear and tear of the tissues withi~ithe body
in a healthy individual.
- Recommended dietary : the daily dietary intake level that is sufficient to
allowance meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all hedthy
individuals in a particular life stage and gender
group.
Estimated average intake : the median usual intake that meets the requirements
of half of the healthy individuals in a given lire
stage and gender group.
Upper level the highest continuing level of daily nutrient illrake
that is likely to pose no risk of adverse health
effects in almost all individuals, in the specified
life stage g~*oup.
Obligatory losses . the losses that occur when an individual is put 011
a diet free of any particular ~ ~ ~ l t r i e n t .
 Understandii~gNutrition
1.11 ANSWERS TO CHECK YOUR PROGRESS
EXERCISES
Check Your Progress Exercise 1

1) The major determinants of nutrient requirements are age, sex and body weight.
For details related to these determinants refer to sub-section 1.4.1 and answer
this question on your own.
2) The amount of many nutrients needed in the diet depends on the absorption or
bioavailability of the nutrients. Bioavailability is defined as the percent of the
dietary nutrient absorbed and utilized for a specific function by the body. It
varies widely for differeut nutrients depending 011 the quantities ingested and the
presence of other constituents of the diet.
3) No, iniiiimun~nutrient requirement is the lowest ainount of the nutrient from the
diet that will prevent clinically detectable iinpaiilnent in function while n~aintenance
requirement is the amount of nutsient that is needed to replace the wear and Lear
of the tissues within the body in a healthy individual.
4) RDA or Reconlmended Dietay Allowances refer to the daily dietaiy intake
level that is sufficient to meet the nutrient ~.equireinentsof nearly all healthy
individuals in a particular life stage and gencler group. It can be calculated as
under:
RDA= EAR + 2SD.
5) a) The estimated average intake is defined as thc median usual intake that
meets the requirements of half of tlle healthy individuals in a given life state
and gender group.
b) A1 is derived from observations of nutrient illlakes by a group of apparently
healthy individuals who are maintaining a defined nutritional state or criteria
of adequacy, that includes nornial growth, lnaintenancc of normal levels, of
nutrients in plasma or general health.
I

C) The upper level is the highest contiiluing level of daily nutrient intakc that
is likely to pose no risk of adverse health effects in almost all individuals,
in the specified life stage group.
Check Your Progress Exercise 2
1) The assunlptions include: that mean plus 2 SD will cover the requirement of
practically all individuals in that population group. In case of energy requirement,
the average requirement for energy is taken as the RDA, since consuniption of
other nutrients in excess of requirement with any adverse effects whereas
consumption of energy even in sinall excess over a period of time can lead to
overweight and obesity. The RDA is intended for use primarily as a goal for
usual intake.
2) The goals behind estimating RDAs include:
@
Guidelines for continuing dietary int<akesthat healthy people should strive
for on a day to day basis, in order to maintain good health.
0 Planning for national food supplies,
0 Planning for emergency rations,
0 Providing information on food fortification,
Evaluation of nutrient adequacy at individual and group level, and
Modifying nutrient requirements in clinical management of diseases.
Advance Nutrition 3) Protein requirements of infants and young children are estimated by studying the
growth rate of healthy infants and children and the nitrogen content of the body
at different ages.
4) Dietary Guidelines are becoming increasingly powerful tools to help the general
public to appreciate the role of diet in prevention of degenerative diseases
associated with ageing, affluence and environmental degradation. These are
qualitative in nature unlike the M A S .
5) a) Depletion and repletion study is an experimental procedure in which volunteer
subjects are kept on a diet devoid of a particular nutrient, until such a time
when they develop overt clinical signs of deficiency of the nutrient. The
lowest level of the nutrient that reverses the clinical symptoms in all volunteer
subjects is the minimum requirement for that nutrient.
b) In nutrient tuinover studies radioactive labeled nutrients are used to know
the total body pool and the compartment in which it is stored. The pool that
falls below a certain level shows deficiency. They are used to estiinate how
much nutrient is lost on a daily basis.
c) In balance studies, from the anount of the nutrient ingested and the anount
excreted, nutrient balance can be calculated as follows:
Amount of nutrient ingested - amount excreted = amount retained

The balance is usually zero in adults and positive in growing childrei~.From

this concept we can study the lowest average intake that is necessary to
maintain zero balance in adults that will represent the maintenance
requirement.