Common Terminology Sport Nutrition

Learning Outcomes Standard abbreviations Common terminology Food labels

Food labels What do you find on a food label? These labels usually include information on energy (calories), protein, carbohydrate and fat. They may provide additional information on saturated fat, sugars, sodium, salt and fibre. All nutrition information is provided per 100 grams and sometimes per portion of the food Nutrition labels can also provide information on how a particular food or drink product fits into your daily diet. You can find out more about this under Guideline Daily Amounts (GDAs) An increasing number of supermarkets and food manufacturers repeat information on calories, fat, saturated fat, sugars and salt on more visible labels on the front of packaging – can you think of an example?

Nutrition Labels The name of the food, the weight of the food and any special storage considerations An indication of minimum durability - a ‘best before’ date Place of origin if there is a chance that the consumer could be misled Pictures on foods must be honest and not misleading In 2004 the Genetically Modified (GM) labelling rules came into force List of Ingredients Nutritional information must be given if a claim is made on the packaging, i.e. ‘low in fat’ or ‘high in fibre. The nutritional breakdown should be for a 100g/100ml serving

List of ingredients Ingredients are listed in descending order of weight May also indicate: The use of inexpensive bulk ingredients The use of additives such as colourings, flavourings, artificial sweeteners and preservatives

Nutrition label shows: Total energy (in both kJ and kcal) Fat (g) Carbohydrate (g) Protein (g) May also show: Proportion of fats that are saturated/unsaturated Proportion of carbohydrates that are sugars/starches

Calculating % energy derived from fats, carbs and proteins Food label shows fats, carbs and proteins as grams Need to convert these to kcal to calculate a true percentage

Example Calculate % kcal from fat Nutrition label Multiply the grams of fat by 9 – why 9? This will get the amount in calories: 3x9kcal = 27kcal Divide this number by the energy (kcal) 27 divided by 70 = 0.385 Multiply this number by 100 to get the % 0.385x100 = 38.5%

Recommended Daily Allowance (RDA) The amounts of nutrients and calories an individual is recommended to consume daily, especially the amounts of vitamins and minerals recommended by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council

Estimated and Adequate Daily Dietary Intake (ESADDI) Nutrient intake recommendations, made by the National Academy of Sciences Food and Nutrition Board, that give what is considered a safe range of intake for some nutrients because not enough information is available to set recommended dietary allowance values for them

Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) This is an estimate of the average requirement for energy or a nutrient - approximately 50% of a group of people will require less, and 50% will require more. For a group of people receiving adequate amounts, the range of intakes will vary around the EAR

Reference Nutrient Intake (RNI) The RNI is the amount of a nutrient that is enough to ensure that the needs of nearly all the group (97.5%) are being met RNI values for protein, vitamins and minerals are set for each age/sex group at a level of intake considered likely to be sufficient to meet the requirements of 97.5% of the group

Department of Health, Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the United Kingdom, HMSO, 1991

Lower Reference Nutrient Intake (LRNI) The amount of a nutrient that is enough for only the small number of people who have low requirements (2.5%). The majority need more

Safe intake This is used where there is insufficient evidence to set an EAR, RNI or LRNI The safe intake is the amount judged to be a level or range of intake at which there is no risk of deficiency and is below the level where there is a risk of undesirable effects There is no evidence that intakes above this level have any benefits - and in some instances they could have toxic effects

Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) Comprise a series of estimates of the amount of energy and nutrients needed by different groups of healthy people in the UK population Meaningful estimates of nutritional requirements must take account of the distribution of requirements within a population or group. To achieve this, the COMA panel used four Dietary Reference Values (DRVs). DRVs are estimates of the requirements for groups of people and are not recommendations or goals for individuals

Optimal Nutrition The term "Optimum Nutrition" can be defined as eating the right amounts of nutrients on a proper schedule to achieve the best performance and the longest possible lifetime in good health, assuming that external negative influences like accidents and infectious diseases can be avoided Optimum Nutrition remains an elusive goal because the demands of the body change from minute-to-minute based on physical activity

Guideline daily amount (GDA)

GDA labelling GDAs are a guide to the total amount of energy and nutrients that a healthy adult should be eating per day The energy GDA values (2500kcals for males and 2000kcals for females) take account of the current activity levels and lifestyle of the ‘average person’, which is considered to be fairly sedentary GDAs for fats and saturates are derived from the dietary reference values of these nutrients as published by the Department of Health (1991) For salt, the GDA is based on the 6g per day as recommended by COMA (1994) and then confirmed by SANC (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition) 2003 Note that GDAs on food packaging always use the female figures as a standard

Traffic light labelling

TLL Originally devised by Food Standards Agency (FSA) – for the most up to date guidance go to www.dh.gov.uk/health/2012/10/nutrition-labelling Offers consumers a simple, visual representation of the energy, fat, saturated fat, salt and sugar in a food product: Red = high Amber = medium Green = low