FAQ’s: Classification of nutrients, Recommended Dietary Allowances

1Q. Explain the terms Nutrients and how are they classified?
A. Foods are made up of a number of chemical components called
nutrients. These are classified according to their chemical
composition into – carbohydrates, proteins ,fats ,minerals , vitamins
and water.
2Q . What are Recommended Dietary Allowances ?
A. Recommended intakes of nutrients that meet the needs of almost all
healthy people of similar age and gender are termed the
Recommended Dietary Allowances. RDA’s are based on gender,
age ,body size, type of activity and special physiological state.
3Q. How can recommended allowances be used?
A. The uses of RDA are:
1.To enable government to predict food needs of the population.
2.To provide basis for food distribution quota.
3.To guide agricultural planning policy.
4 .To guide policy of food export and import.
5.To guide planning of nutritionally adequate diets for inmates of large
catering establishments such as hospitals, hostels , army canteens etc.
6.To evaluate the findings of food consumption surveys of population
groups.

4Q. What is a Reference Man?

A. He is in the Age 20-39 years and weight 60 Kg, is healthy free from
disease and fit for work. He is employed in moderately active
occupation for 8 hours , spends 8 hours in bed, 4 to 6 hours in leisure
activities, sitting and moving about and 2 hours in active recreation,
walking or household duties.
5Q. Define Food Pyramid .
A. It is a graphic representation of number of servings from the five major
foods of groups needed daily to form a healthful diet. The Pyramid is
designed to illustrate the dietary guidelines for Indians in terms of food
groups and recommended number s of daily servings .It shows that the
foundation of a healthful diet.