• Question: Do you think that the recomended daily allowance (of fat, sugar etc.) is correct, and if not, how would you improve it?

    Asked by etherdenc09 to Helen, Jenni, Mark, Martin, Stu on 14 Jun 2011.
    • Photo: Helen O'Connor

      Helen O'Connor answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      As I am not a trained nutritionist, I couldnt comment on this although many of the recommended allowances are based upon what is about “average”: but in reality people come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, and have different lifestyles (active/lazy), that can determine how much fuel they need. That’s why sports nutrition is so important – to work out exactly what nutrients and calories an athlete needs to reach peak performance.

    • Photo: Jenni Tilley

      Jenni Tilley answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      well, they’re advisory limits so there’s alwayssome give and take. Also, it’s all based on averages for people doing average amounts of exercise etc- at 5’2” and lazy, I don’t really think I should eat the same amount of food as my friend who’s 6’2” (and a brilliant basketball player).

      Really I think people should use them as a guide but adapt it depending on their lifestyle!

    • Photo: Mark Burnley

      Mark Burnley answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      Very interesting question. Did you know there ISN’T a recommended daily allowance for fat and sugar? This is because peoples energy need varies so much, so the figures you may have seen refer to the “Estimated Average Requirement” (EAR). The RDA’s (now call “reference nutrient intake” – RNI) for vitamins and minerals are based on the amount required for at least 97% of the population. I think that’s as good as you can get, and taking in mega doses of some vitamins (vitamins A and D, for example) can be dangerous, because they are fat soluable and stay in the body for a long time. Vitamin C is water soluable, so mega doses of this will give you expensive wee! There is a whole government department (Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy, COMA) which spends its time looking at all the evidence for healthy dietary intake, and they do a really good job.

    • Photo: Stuart Mourton

      Stuart Mourton answered on 14 Jun 2011:

      yeh, as Jenni says, they’re really just a guide based on lots of ‘average’ figures. This means they’ll be about right for a percentage of the population but not everyone. To improve it would be hard. Maybe the government could set up an easy to use website where you could enter factors such as your age, height, weight, activity level etc and this would give a slightly more personalised view. It’s hard though as without having a full assesment by a professional it will still only be a rough guide.

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