Chapter 1

Nutrition in adulthood –recommended dietary allowances based on sex and occupation-

nutritional guidelines.
Recommended Daily Allowance
It is the average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all
(97%-98%) healthy people. (Food and Nutrition Board)
Recommended Daily Allowance
 The recommended dietary allowances (RDA) are nutrient-centred .
 It is the average daily level of intake sufficient to meet the nutrient requirements of nearly all
(97%-98%) healthy people. (Food and Nutrition Board).
 The recommended dietary allowances(RDAs) are estimates of nutrients to be consumed daily
to ensure the requirementsof all individuals in a given population.
 The recommended level depends upon thebioavailability of nutrients from a given diet. The
term bioavailability indicates what is absorbedand utilized by the body.
 In addition, RDA includes a margin of safety, tocover variation between individuals, dietary
traditions and practices.
 The RDAs are suggested for physiological groups such as infants, pre-schoolers, children,
adolescents, pregnant women, lactating mothers, and adult men and women, takinginto
account their physical activity.
 RDAs are suggested averages/day. However, in practice, fluctuations in intake may occur
depending on the food availability and demands of the body. But, the average requirements
need to be satisfied over a period of time.

Influence of sex
Women have lower BMR than men.
Calorie
Men and women are 98.5% identical in their DNA, and their nutritional needs are more similar
than different. 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. The
average-sized, moderately physically active 30-year-old female needs about 2000 calories per
day while her male counterpart needs about 2800 calories per day. Even if they were the same
height and weight, the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) approximate that the man burns about
400 calories more per day than the woman.
Although the recommended breakdown of carbohydrate, protein, and fat are the same for both
genders, because men generally need more calories, they also require higher total intake of each
of the macronutrients.
Women need fewer calories than  men, but in many cases, they have higher vitamin and mineral
needs. Adequate intake of calcium, iron, and folic acid are of special importance for women.
Protein
Women: Protein provides energy. It is also important in growth and repair. Excess protein
accelerates calcium loss in urine. Therefore, women with a high risk of osteoporosis should be
careful not to eat too much protein. As a rule of thumb, the average requirement is calculated
based on 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight. For instance a 59 kg woman would
need 47 grams of protein daily. If you are an athlete, your protein requirement will increase.
Men: Men require more protein, simply because they weigh more. Excess protein accelerates
calcium loss in urine and also have high risk of kidney stones. The average requirement is
calculated based on 0.8 grams of protein per kg of body weight. Therefore, a 75 kg man would
need 60 grams of protein daily. In general, both healthy men and women (regardless of body
size) will do fine with 60 grams of protein a day.
Carbohydrates
Carbs are gender-neutral. Carbohydrates should provide 45%–65% of daily calories. Most of
those calories should come from the complex carbohydrates in high-fiber and unrefined foods,
such as bran cereal and other whole-grain products, brown rice, beans and other legumes, and
many fruits and vegetables. Men need more fiber than women: 38 vs. 25 grams a day before the
age of 50 and 30 vs. 21 grams a day thereafter.
Simple sugars should be limited to 10% of the daily calories; for the average person, that's about
60 grams or 12 teaspoons of table sugar.
Fat
Both men and women should keep the total fat consumption below 30%–35% of daily calories.
The two omega-3 fatty acids found in fish are highly desirable for both sexes. But the vegetable
omega-3 is a different matter.
The problem omega-3 is alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). It is particularly abundant in canola oil and
flaxseed oil. Like the marine omega-3s, ALA is good for the heart, but unlike fish oil, which may
reduce the risk of prostate cancer, ALA may not be good for the prostate. For women, it's a
healthful fat. For men with heart disease or major cardiac risk factors, it may also be a good
choice — but men with more reason to worry about prostate cancer should probably get their
omega-3s from fish and their vegetable fats largely from olive oil.
Women: Omega 3 Fatty acids, a type of polyunsaturated fatty acids, have been shown to help
lower triglycerides and increase the good HDL cholesterol. They may also act as an
anticoagulant to prevent blood from clotting. Omega 3 fatty acids can be found in almost all fish,
but they are particularly high in fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, sardines, and herring. They
can also be found in nuts and seeds, as well as vegetable cooking oils. How much for Women?
There is no official nutritional recommendation on how much omega 3 fatty acids women should
eat.
Men: Omega 3 fatty acids benefit men too, but only the marine kind from fish oil. Vegetable
omega 3, also known as alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) may not be good for men. Although it is still
controversial, high intake of ALA has been linked to higher risk of prostate cancer.
Calcium
Due to the hormonal changes associated with menstruation and child-bearing, women are more
susceptible than men to weakened bones and osteoporosis. For this reason, the average post-
menopausal woman requires more calcium than her male counterpart (1000 mg for 51- to 70-
year-old women compared to 800 mg for 51- to 70-year-old men). For women under 50 years
old, the recommended amount is 1,000 milligrams. For women over 50, the recommendation
increases to 1,200 mg. Recommended calcium intakes at other ages are the same for both
genders.
Iron
Women also are at increased risk of iron-deficiency anemia compared to men due to the monthly
blood loss associated with menstruation. After menopause, of course, the gap closes. The
average pre-menopausal woman needs about 18 milligrams of iron per day compared to 8
milligrams for men.
Other minerals
The dietary requirements for selenium is 200 micrograms a day for men which is higher than women.
Selenium may reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The recommendations around zinc has slight
variations between the sexes. Teenage boys and adult men should consume 11mg daily of zinc
daily, which is slightly more than teenage girls at 9mg daily and adult women at 8mg daily. Zinc
is not only essential to immune function and our sense of taste and smell, it is vital to the sexual
development and fertility of males. 

B Vitamins
Both men and women need about 400 micrograms of the B vitamin folic acid, but the DRIs
specifically recommend that all women of child bearing age take a multivitamin with at least 400
micrograms of folic acid to prevent brain and spinal cord defects in a growing fetus. These
devastating consequences can occur in the early weeks gestation, before a woman even knows
that she is pregnant. Once a woman is pregnant, the DRIs recommend 600 micrograms per day.

Physical Activity
A certain amount of activity must be performed regularly in order to maintain overall health and
fitness, to achieve energy balance and to reduce the risk of developing obesity and associated
diseases, most of which are associated with a sedentary lifestyle.
OCCUPATION
Classification of physical activity levels
Energy requirements are highly dependent on habitual physical activity. This consultation
classified the intensity of a population’s habitual physical activity into three categories, as was
done by the 1981 FAO/WHO/UNU expert consultation (WHO, 1985).
Classification of lifestyles in relation to the intensity of habitual physical activity, or PAL
Category PAL value
Sedentary or light activity lifestyle 1.40-1.69
Active or moderately active lifestyle 1.70-1.99
Vigorous or vigorously active lifestyle 2.00-2.40*
* PAL values > 2.40 are difficult to maintain over a long period of time.
Examples of lifestyles with different levels of energy demands
Sedentary or light activity lifestyles. These people have occupations that do not demand much
physical effort, are not required to walk long distances, generally use motor vehicles for
transportation, do not exercise or participate in sports regularly, and spend most of their leisure
time sitting or standing, with little body displacement (e.g. talking, reading, watching television,
listening to the radio, using computers). One example is male office workers in urban areas, who
only occasionally engage in physically demanding activities during or outside working hours.
Another example are rural women living in villages that have electricity, piped water and nearby
paved roads, who spend most of the time selling produce at home or in the marketplace, or doing
light household chores and caring for children in or around their houses.
Active or moderately active lifestyles. These people have occupations that are not strenuous in
terms of energy demands, but involve more energy expenditure than that described for sedentary
lifestyles. Alternatively, they can be people with sedentary occupations who regularly spend a
certain amount of time in moderate to vigorous physical activities, during either the obligatory or
the discretionary part of their daily routine.
For example, the daily performance of one hour (either continuous or in several bouts
during the day) of moderate to vigorous exercise, such as jogging/running, cycling, aerobic
dancing or various sports activities, can raise a person’s average PAL from 1.55 (corresponding
to the sedentary category) to 1.75 (the moderately active catego.ry). Other examples of
moderately active lifestyles are associated with occupations such as masons and construction
workers, or rural women in less developed traditional villages who participate in agricultural
chores or walk long distances to fetch water and fuelwood.
Vigorous or vigorously active lifestyles. These people engage regularly in strenuous work or in
strenuous leisure activities for several hours. Examples are women with non-sedentary
occupations who swim or dance an average of two hours each day, or non-mechanized
agricultural labourers who work with a machete, hoe or axe for several hours daily and walk long
distances over rugged terrains, often carrying heavy loads..
Food and Nutrition Board : National Academy of Sci.ences. The Food and Nutrition Board
addresses issues of safety, quality, and adequacy of the food supply; establishes principles and
guidelines of adequate dietary intake; and renders authoritative judgments on the relationships
among food intake, nutrition, and health.