Research Articles Using dietary reference intake to evaluate energy and macronutrient intake among young women Regina Mara Fisberg 4 , Juliana Masami Morimoto, Dirce Maria Lobo Marchioni, Betzabeth Slater Department of Nutrition, Faculty of Public Health, University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo SP 01246-904, Brazil Received 28 November 2005; revised 22 December 2005; accepted 30 January 2006 Abstract The objective of this study was to investigate energy intake among young women, comparing this with estimated energy requirement and the distribution of macronutrients in the diet. An evaluation was made of 119 female nutrition students at a public university in the State of Sa ˜o Paulo, aged between 19 and 30 years. Their food intake was evaluated by means of a food record for 3 nonconsecutive days. For the calculation of the estimated energy requirement and acceptable macronutrient distribution range, the approach proposed by the Institute of Medicine in the United States was used. The energy intake in the group studied was less than the estimated energy requirement ( P b .00). With regard to macronutrients, 12% of the students had a carbohydrate intake that was less than the recommended quantity. The energy intake in the form of fat exceeded 30% for 22% of the group studied. The within-subject variability in energy and macronutrient intake was similar to that presented by American women at the same stage of life. D 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Keywords: Dietary reference intakes; Energy; Macronutrients; Estimated energy requirement; Women 1. Introduction Rapid changes in diet and lifestyle have occurred with industrialization, urbanization, economic development, and globalization, especially over the past decade. These events have had a singular impact on the health and nutritional state of different populations, particularly those in developing countries and experiencing epidemiologic transitions. With- in this scenario, chronic nontransmissible diseases are increasingly becoming the causes of disability and prema- ture death, both in developed countries and in those with emerging economies. This situation is placing even more of a burden on the resources destined for public health care because this new agenda is additional to the problems resulting from malnutrition [1]. The sedentary lifestyle of motorized transportation, diminished manual physical activities through increased use of robotic machines, and leisure activities that demand little physical activity, such as watching television, has an influence on the individual’s state of health, along with the bWesternQ dietary pattern. In this respect, an increase in the intake of diets of high energy density that are rich in fats, especially saturated fats, and poor in unrefined carbohy- drates has been observed [2]. The Institute of Medicine (IOM) in the United States, in conjunction with Canadian researchers, has made an extensive literature review and has proposed new equations for estimates of energy requirements [3]. The estimated energy requirement (EER) is defined as the energy intake that comes from a diet for maintaining the energy balance of healthy individuals according to their stage of life, sex, weight, height, and physical activity. In addition to this, a set of reference values for proteins and carbohydrates and percentage distributions for energy supplied by macro- nutrients has been established. The objective of the present study was to investigate the energy intake among young women and compare this with 0271-5317/$ – see front matter D 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.nutres.2006.01.003 4 Corresponding author. E-mail address: rfisberg@usp.br (R.M. Fisberg). Nutrition Research 26 (2006) 151 – 153 www.elsevier.com/locate/nutres