Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom : report of the Panel on Dietary Reference Values of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy.

  • Great Britain. Panel on Dietary Reference Values
Date:
1991
Catalogue details

Licence: Open Government Licence

Credit: Dietary reference values for food energy and nutrients for the United Kingdom : report of the Panel on Dietary Reference Values of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    1. Introduction 1.1 Background tothe Panel The Panel on Dietary Reference Values was set up in 1987 by the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy (COMA) to review the Recommended Daily Amounts (RDAs) of food energy and nutrients for groups of people in the United Kingdom which had been set in 1979. The Panel recognised from the outset that this was such a major task that it could be completed only by the creation of expert Working Groups to consider various classes of nutrients and to report their considerations and conclusions to the Panel. Four Working Groups were convened to review requirements for energy and protein; for fat and carbohydrate; for vitamins; and for minerals. 1.2 Terms of Reference of the Panel ‘To review the Recommended Daily Amounts (RDAs) for food energy and nutrients for groups of people in the United Kingdom.’ 1.3 Interpretation of the Terms of Reference 1.3.1 The definition of the Recommended Daily Amount (RDA) for a nutrient which was used in the previous Report of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy! is ‘the average amount of the nutrient which should be provided per head in a group of people if the needs of practically all members of the group are to be met’. This was framed in an attempt to make it clear that the amounts referred to are averages for a group of people and not amounts which individuals must consume. In the earlier report published by COMA2 the definition of Recommended Intakes was ‘the amounts sufficient, or more than sufficient, for the nutritional needs of practically all healthy persons in a population’. The word ‘Intakes’ was used to emphasise that the recommenda- tions related to foods as actually eaten. 1.3.2 Inconsidering the options available this Panel was conscious not only of these differences in UK definitions but also of the variety of different definitions in other countries. The Panel was however aware of the continuing potential for misuse and misinterpretation of any single figure, however defined. To minimise this and to help users to interpret dietary information on both groups and individuals the Panel decided to try to set a range of intakes based as far as possible on its assessment of the distribution of requirements for each nutrient. The Panel called these various figures Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) and the Panel adopted the title of the Panel on Dietary Reference Values. 1.3.3. The Panel considered that this change in approach and nomenclature would reduce the chance of misunderstanding the true nature of its figures as estimates of reference values and not as recommendations for intakes by —~
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