Prevalence of inadequate nutrient intake and risk of exceeding upper levels in the
French population Ann Nutr Metab 2011;58(suppl 3):p 397
A. Dufour; M. Bertin; L. Lafay; C. Dubuisson
Introduction: The field of nutritional risk assessment includes
at the left end of the distribution the risk of inadequate intake comparing
to the needs and at the right end the risk of exceeding upper
levels. By taking into account all sources of intake (ie common food,
fortified food and dietary supplements (DS)), both of these risks can
be assessed.
Objectives: This study investigated successively the prevalence
of inadequate nutrient intake (ie intakes below requirements) and the
proportion of subjects who exceed Tolerable Upper Intake Levels
(ULs) with all intake sources in the French population.
Method/Design: Diet was assessed from the second French
national food consumption study (INCA2) conducted in 2006-07
(on a representative sample of 1863 adults and 1382 children) using
a 7-day food record and a frequency questionnaire over the past 12
months for DS. Nutrient intakes were assessed by linking food and
DS consumption with nutritional composition databases. The Multiple
Source Method and software developed by the German Institute of
Human Nutrition was used to remove the day-to-day intake variabilityand to estimate the total usual intake (UI). The
sum of UI from foods
(common or fortified) and from DS was compared to the estimated
average requirements (EAR) and to ULs.
Results: A risk of inadequate intake in Ca, Mg, Se and vitamins
C, E, B6 is observed for the adults over 75 years old and in Mg for
other adults groups. For children, inadequate intakes were reported
in vitamins C, E and minerals Ca, Cu, I, Mg, Zn for different groups
of age and sex. Very few subjects (<2%) exceeded ULs even with
consideration of all sources of nutrient intake.
Conclusions: According to the EAR cut point method, some
age-gender groups may be considered as particularly at risk. For now,
the risks of exceeding ULs are limited.
