NUTRITION STANDARDS

&
GUIDELINES
-Recommended Nutrient Intakes for Malaysia 2017
(RNI 2017)

Lecture outline
• Recommended Nutrient Intakes for Malaysia
(RNI)
– Definition of RNI, EAR, UL
– Uses of RNI
– macronutrient contribution towards Total Energy
Intake (TEI)

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Recommended Nutrients Intakes (RNIs) are nutrient
standards that may be used to plan and assess
dietary nutrient intakes

RNI
“Recommended nutrient intake (RNI) is
the daily intake,
set at estimated average requirement
(EAR) plus 2 standard deviations (SD),
which meets the nutrient requirements
of almost all apparently healthy
individuals in an age- and sex-specific
population group.”

Source: RNI 2017, page 5

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EAR: estimated average requirement, is the average daily intake required to prevent deficit in half of
the population.
RNI: recommend nutrient intake, is the amount necessary to meet the needs of most (97.5%) of the
population, set as the EAR plus 2 standard deviations.
UL: tolerable upper intake level, is the level at which no evidence of toxicity is demonstrable. 6

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 Uses of RNI
Food Industry and Marketing
• Reference for nutrition labelling of foods,
supplements
• Guide for nutrient claims on food products
• Food product innovation and food
fortification
• Planning procurement of food supplies and
menus for institutions eg. schools, hospitals
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Uses of RNI
Policy Makers
• Plan, monitor national food supplies
• reference for development of relevant policies
• basis for development of the National Dietary Guidelines
Program Planner
• To assess and evaluate dietary intakes for the population
• reference for nutrition promotion programmes.
Clinical Practitioner
• Assist in development of therapeutic diet manuals.
• Assessment of individual diets.
• plan modified diets.
Researcher
• As a main reference for dietary analysis for epidemiological studies.
• Evaluation of nutritional quality of foods by calculating the nutrient
density index.
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*as a guide to reduce risk of chronic diseases

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Macronutrient contribution towards

Total Energy Intake (TEI)
Malaysian adults:

• Carbohydrates 50 - 65% TEI

• Fat 25 - 30% TEI
• Protein 10 - 20% TEI

Source: RNI 2017

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