Current UK healthy eating and physical activity advice Flashcards
What chronic diseases are linked to diet?
o Excess weight gain & obesity o Diabetes o CVD o Cancer o Dental diseases o Osteoporosis
What should the median BMI be in the adult population?
The median BMI for the adult population should be 21-23 kg/m2, while individuals should maintain BMI in the range 18.5-24.9kg/m2
What is aflatoxin, what is it found in and what has it been linked to?
Aflatoxins are poisonous carcinogens that are produced by certain molds which grow in soil, decaying vegetation, hay, and grains
Found to grow on corn, peanuts, cottonseed, milk, walnuts, pistachios and Brazil nuts
Linked to cancer
What are the three main types of dietary recommendations made by public health agencies?
Three main types of dietary recommendations may be produced by public health agencies:
- dietary allowances (DRVs)
- dietary goals
- dietary guidelines
What are dietary allowances?
Dietary allowances are quantitative guidelines for different population subgroups for the essential macro-nutrients and micro-nutrients to prevent nutritional deficiencies.
What are dietary goals?
Dietary goals are quantitative national targets for selected macronutrients and micronutrients aimed at preventing long-term chronic disease e.g. coronary heart disease, stroke and cancer. They are usually aimed at the national population level rather than the individual level.
What are dietary guidelines?
Dietary guidelines are broad targets aimed at the individual to promote nutritional well-being. They were initially introduced for macronutrients but are now being used for micronutrients. Dietary guidelines can be expressed as quantitative targets (e.g. five servings of fruit and vegetables/day) or as qualitative guidelines (e.g. eat more fruit and vegetables)
What are dietary reference values?
DRVs are a series of estimates of the amount of energy and nutrients needed by different groups of healthy people in the UK population; they are not recommendations or goals for individuals.
Similar to dietary allowances
How do you calculate nutrition requirements using dietary reference values for a population?
In order to take account of the distribution of nutritional requirements within the population, COMA used four Dietary Reference Values (DRVs):
o Estimated Average Requirements (EARs)
o Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNIs)
o Lower Reference Nutrient Intakes (LRNIs)
o Safe Intake
Define estimated average requirements
EAR is an estimate of the average requirement of energy or a nutrient needed by a group of people i.e. approximately 50% of people will require less, and 50% will require more.
Define required nutrient intake
RNI is the amount of a nutrient that is enough to ensure that the needs of nearly all a group (97.5%) are being met i.e. the majority will need less.
Define lower reference nutrient intake
LRNI is the amount of a nutrient that is enough for only a small number of people in a group who have low requirements (2.5%) i.e. the majority need more.
Define safe intake
Safe intake is used where there is insufficient evidence to set an EAR, RNI or LRNI. The safe intake is the amount judged to be enough for almost everyone, but below a level that could have undesirable effects.
What affects individual nutrient requirements?
age gender level of physical activity health status - digestion and absorption issues nutrient losses - e.g. menstruation and iron lifestyle - smoking interactions between nutrients drug-nutrient interactions
What are the limitations of DRVs?
Data often derived from experimental data limited to certain groups (e.g. young men)
Limited info on certain groups e.g. children and elderly
Usually committees add a safety margin – this can vary between countries
For some nutrients, where little is known about requirements, a safe level is given
Requirements are a best guess!
Need to be updated every 10-15 y to include new evidence
