State of Science :: Hot Science
Daily Deficiencies in Nutrient Intake
The USDA report "What We Eat in America" (USDA, 2005) provides a detailed overview of nutrient intakes across the U.S. population. There are tables on 17 essential nutrients including protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals.
Each table reports the daily "Estimated Average Requirement" (EAR) for each nutrient, by population group -- infants, children 1-3, and so on. The amount of each nutrient consumed is also reported and expressed as a percentage of the EAR. The table covers the distribution of intakes within each population group. Average intakes of each nutrient are recorded at the 10th percentile of the distribution of all intakes -- meaning that 10% of all people in the survey ingested this level or less. Mean intakes and 50th percentile intakes are also reported.
For some nutrients and population groups, even those at the 10th percentile of intake are ingesting more than the EAR. For example, children 1-3 at the 10th percentile of consumption of Vitamin A ingest, on average, 157% of the EAR.
In other cases, nutrient intake is grossly inadequate. Ten percent of adult women consume less than one-third the EAR for Vitamin E. More than 97 percent of women over 19 lack adequate intakes of Vitamin E; at the 50th percentile of the distribution of Vitamin E intakes, women over 19 ingest less than half the recommended level.
Across the population and all 17 nutrients --
- Children 1-3 ingest inadequate levels of 1.2 nutrients;
- Males 9-13 ingest less than optimal levels of 1.8 nutrients;
- Males 19-30, 2.9;
- Females 19-30, 3.8;
- Females 71+, 4.3; and
- All Persons 1+, 2.9 nutrients.
Inadequate intakes of essential nutrients worsen with age, as is clear from a review of a detailed table summarizing the results of the USDA report. Women typically have more significant gaps between actual and recommended intakes, compared to men of the same age.
Daily deficiencies exist despite the abundance of nutrient dense foods available to all Americans and our ample or excessive caloric intake. This is why the potential to increase the nutrient density of food through organic farming is such an important benefit following the switch to organic farming.
Source: "What We Wat in America, NHANES 2001-2002", USDA Agricultural Research Service, September, 2005.