Skip to main content
PMC home page
Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 1997 Sep 1;88(5):314–319. doi: 10.1007/BF03403897

Canadian Recommended Nutrient Intakes Underestimate True Energy Requirements in Middle-aged Women

Peter J H Jones 17,27,✉, Lisa J Martin 17,27, Wanfang Su 17,27, Norman F Boyd 17,27
PMCID: PMC6990338  PMID: 9401165

Abstract

To examine whether Health Canada’s Recommended Nutrient Intakes (RNI) and FAO/WHO/UNU (Food and Agriculture Organization, World Health Organization, United Nations University) values provide accurate indices of true energy requirements, energy expenditure was determined using doubly labelled water (DLW) over 13 days in a group of 29 middle-aged women. Energy intakes were calculated from weighed food intake, and energy expenditures and intakes were then compared with individual calculated RNI requirements. The mean energy requirement as determined by DLW expenditure (9.56 ± 0.53 MJ/d) was higher (p<0.0001) than reported energy intake (7.08 ± 0.30 MJ/d) and was higher (p<0.004) than RNI mean energy requirement (7.9 7± 0.18 MJ/d). The mean RNI for energy was also lower (p<0.0001) than that derived from FAO data. These results suggest that current Health Canada RNIs are inadequate in predicting the energy needs of Canadian middle-aged women.

Footnotes

Supported by a grant from the Ontario Ministry of Health

References

  • 1.National DevelopmentHealth Consensus Development Panel on the Health Implications of Obesity. Health implications of obesity: NIH Consensus Development Conference Statement. Ann Intern Med. 1985;103:1073–77. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-103-6-1073. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 2.American Diabetes Association. Nutritional recommendations and principles for individuals with diabetes mellitus. Diabetes Care. 1986;10:126–32. doi: 10.2337/diacare.10.1.126. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 3.Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel on detection, evaluationtreatment of high blood cholesterol in adults. Arch Intern Med. 1988;148:36–99. doi: 10.1001/archinte.1988.00380010040006. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 4.Pereira L, White F. Canadian Guidelines for Healthy Weights. Ottawa: Health and Welfare, Canada; 1988. Epidemiological tabulation of the body mass index in association with selected morbidity and blood chemistry indicators by age, sex and region. [Google Scholar]
  • 5.Galanos A, Pieper C, Cornoni-Huntley J, Bales C, Fillenbaum G. The relationship between body mass index and functional status among community dwelling elderly. J Am Ger Soc. 1992;40:SA3. doi: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.1994.tb07483.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 6.Cornoni-Huntley JC, Harris TB, Everett DF, Albanes D, Micozzi MS, Miles TP, Feldman JJ. An overview of body weight of older persons, including the impact on mortality. The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 1. Epidemiological follow-up study. J Clin Epidemiol. 1991;44:743–53. doi: 10.1016/0895-4356(91)90126-T. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 7.FAO/WHO/UNU. Energy and protein requirements. Geneva: WHO Tech Rep Ser 724; 1985. [Google Scholar]
  • 8.HealthWelfare Canada. Nutrition Recommendations. Ottawa: Supply and Services Canada; 1990. [Google Scholar]
  • 9.Acheson KJ, Campbell IT, Edholm OG, Miller DS, Stock MJ. The measurement of food and energy intake in man — an evaluation of some techniques. Am J Clin Nutr. 1980;33:1147–54. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/33.5.1147. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 10.Krantzler NJ, Mullen BJ, Schutz HG, Grivetti LE, Holden CA, Meiselman HL. Validity of telephoned diet recalls and records for assessment of individual food intake. Am J Clin Nutr. 1982;36:1234–42. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/36.6.1234. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 11.Beaton GH. Approaches to analysis of dietary data: relationship between planned analyses and choice of methodology. Am J Clin Nutr. 1994;59:253S–261S. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/59.1.253S. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 12.Forbes-Ewan CH, Morrissey BLL, Gregg GC, Waters DR. Use of doubly labelled water technique in soldiers training for jungle warfare. J Appl Physiol. 1989;67:14–18. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1989.67.1.14. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 13.Jones PJH, Jacobs I, Morris A, Ducharme MB. Adequacy of food rations in soldiers during an arctic exercise measured using doubly labelled water. J Appl Physiol. 1993;75:1790–97. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1993.75.4.1790. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 14.Delany JP, Schoeller DA, Hoyt RW, Askew EW, Sharp MA. Field use of D2l8O to measure energy expenditure of soldiers at different energy intakes. J Appl Physiol. 1989;67:1922–29. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1989.67.5.1922. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 15.Jones PJH. Leitch CA Validation of doubly labelled water for measurement of caloric expenditure in collegiate swimmers. J Appl Physiol. 1993;74:2909–14. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1993.74.6.2909. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 16.Jones PJH, Winthrop AL, Schoeller DA, Swyer PR, Smith J, Filler RM, Heim T. Validation of doubly labelled water for assessing energy expenditure in infants. Pediatr Res. 1987;21:242–46. doi: 10.1203/00006450-198703000-00007. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 17.Ravussin E, Harper IT, Rising R, Bogardus C. Energy expenditure by doubly labelled water. Validation in lean and obese subjects. Am J Physiol. 1991;261:E402–9. doi: 10.1152/ajpendo.1991.261.3.E402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 18.Schoeller DA, Webb P. Five-day comparison of the doubly labelled water method with respiratory gas exchange. Am J Clin Nutr. 1984;40:153–58. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/40.1.153. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 19.Westerterp KR, Brouns F, Saris WHM, Ten Hoor F. Comparison of doubly labelled water with respirometry at low- and high-activity levels. J Appl Physiol. 1988;65:53–6. doi: 10.1152/jappl.1988.65.1.53. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 20.Schoeller DA, Kushner RF, Jones PJH. Validation of doubly labelled water for measuring energy expenditure during parenteral nutrition. Am J Clin Nutr. 1986;44:291–98. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/44.2.291. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 21.Lee-Han H, Cousins M, Beaton M, et al. Compliance in a randomized clinical trial of dietary fat reduction in patients with breast dysplasia. Am J Clin Nutr. 1988;48:575–86. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/48.3.575. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 22.Boyd NF, Cousins M, Lockwood G, Tritchler D. Dietary fat and breast cancer risk: the feasibility of a clinical trial of breast cancer prevention. Lipids. 1992;27:821–26. doi: 10.1007/BF02535857. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 23.Durnin JVGA, Womersley J. Body fat assessed from total body density and its estimation from skinfold thickness: measurements on 481 men and women aged from 16 to 72 years. Brit J Nutr. 1974;32:77–97. doi: 10.1079/BJN19740060. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 24.de Weir JB. New methods for calculating metabolic rate with special reference to protein metabolism. J Physiol. 1949;109:1–9. doi: 10.1113/jphysiol.1949.sp004363. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 25.Black AE, Prentice AM, Coward WA. Use of food quotients to predict respiratory quotients for the doubly-labelled water method of measuring energy expenditure. Hum Nutr Clin Nutr. 1986;40C:381–91. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 26.Wilson PWF, Paffenbarger RS, Morris JN, Haylick RJ. Assessment methods for physical activity and physical fitness in population studies: Report of a NHLBI workshop. Am Heart J. 1986;111:1177–92. doi: 10.1016/0002-8703(86)90022-0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 27.Stockley L. Changes in habitual food intake during weighed inventory supplies and duplication diet collections. A short review. Ecol Food Nutr. 1985;17:263–69. doi: 10.1080/03670244.1985.9990901. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
  • 28.Poehlman ET, Gardner AW, Goran MI. Influence of endurance training on energy intake, norepinephrine kinetics and metabolic rate in older individuals. Metabolism. 1992;41:941–48. doi: 10.1016/0026-0495(92)90118-T. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 29.Schoeller DA, Bandini LG, Dietz WH. Inaccuracies in self-reported intake identified by comparison with the DLW method. Can J Physiol Pharm. 1990;68:941–49. doi: 10.1139/y90-143. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 30.Martin LJ, Su W, Jones PJH, Boyd NF. Energy requirements of middle-aged women determined using doubly labelled water and food intake records. Am J Clin Nutr. 1996;63:483–90. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/63.4.483. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 31.Barr SI, Chrysomilides SA, Willis EJ, Beattie BL. Food intake of institutionalized women over 80 years of age. J Can Diet Assoc. 1984;45:42–51. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 32.Gibson RS, MacDonald AC, Martinez OB. Dietary chromium and manganese intakes of a selected sample of Canadian elderly women. Hum Nutr: Appl Nutr. 1985;39A:34–52. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 33.Tarasuk V, Beaton GH. Statistical estimation of dietary parameters: implications of patterns in within-subject variation: a case study of sampling strategies. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992;55:22–7. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/55.1.22. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 34.Prentice AM, Black AE, Coward WA, Davies HL, Goldberg RR, Murgatroyd PR, Ashford J, Sawyer M, Whitehead RG. High levels of energy expenditure in obese women. Brit Med J. 1986;292:983–87. doi: 10.1136/bmj.292.6526.983. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 35.Bandini LG, Schoeller DA, Cyr H, Dietz WH. Comparison of energy intake and energy expenditure in obese and nonobese adolescents. Am J Clin Nutr. 1990;52:421–25. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/52.3.421. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  • 36.Welle S, Forbes GB, Statt M, Barnard RR, Amatruda JM. Energy expenditure under free-living conditions in normal-weight and overweight women. Am J Clin Nutr. 1992;55:14–21. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/55.1.14. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique are provided here courtesy of Springer

RESOURCES