§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food if she will list(a) the estimated average requirements recommended by the 1991 panel on dietary reference values of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy, (b) the recommended daily amounts defined previously 1979 to 1991 and (c) the corresponding recommended daily amounts in the United States for energy for (i) males and females of different age and (ii) males and females of different age and different levels of activity, as defined in annex 4 of the 1991 panel report.
§ Mr. SackvilleI have been asked to reply.
In the report from the Committee of the Medical Aspects of Food Policy "Dietary Reference Values for Food Energy and Nutrients for the United Kingdom" published in 1991, the estimated average requirement—EAR—is defined as an overall energy expenditure as a multiple of basal metabolic rate. EARs for energy for children and adolescents, and for men and women, at different activity levels are given in tables 1.1, 2.5 and 2.7 of the report. Different EARs for energy for children under 10 years of age were not made according to activity level.
The 1979 COMA recommendations are listed in table 1 of the report "Recommended Daily Amounts of Food Energy and Nutrients for Groups of People in the United Kingdom". Copies of both reports are available in the Library. The 1989 United States recommended dietary allowances are shown in the table. The values in the three reports are derived in different ways and therefore are not directly comparable.
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United States recommended dietary allowances for energy: 1989 Age (years) Kilocalories daily Infants 0–0.5 650 0.5–1 850
Age (years) Kilocalories daily Children 1–3 1,300 4–6 1,800 7–10 2,000 Males 11–14 2,500 15–18 3,000 19–24 2,900 25–50 2,900 51 + 2,300 Females 11–14 2,200 15–18 2,200 19–24 2,200 25–50 2,200 51 + 1,900
§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what research, with specific reference to children, she has commissioned to satisfy the recommendation made by the panel on dietary reference values of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Policy in 1991 on investigations to be carried out into nutrient requirements of the United Kingdom population, their nutritional status and methods for its measurement, particularly for the elderly and for children.
§ Mr. SackvilleI have been asked to reply.
As part of the national diet and nutrition survey programme, run jointly by the Department of Health and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, a survey of children aged one and a half to four and a half years was completed in July 1993 and the report is expected to be published later this year. A survey of children aged five to 15 years is being planned. In 1993, the Department of Health and Medical Research Council's nutrition programme committee commissioned two research projects to examine the relationship between weight, height and nutritional status of children and their current and future health. The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food also has research programmes on optimum nutrient status and on dietary surveys, including improvements in methodology.
§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what is the difference in the energy requirements defined by her Department's dietary experts for a family with a boy aged eight and a girl aged six in which(a) both parents are unemployed and (b) both parents are in full-time employment; and what are the relative risks in each family of not being able to meet those requirements.
§ Mr. SackvilleI have been asked to reply.
Employment status is not known to have any direct influence on energy requirements.
§ Ms CorstonTo ask the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food what specific information about the energy requirements of children of different ages in families with different levels of income has been issued by her Department in the 1990s.
§ Mr. SackvilleI have been asked to reply.
The report from the Committee on the Medical Aspects of Food Policy—COMA—"Dietary Reference Values for 146W Food Energy and Nutrients for the United Kingdom", copies of which are available in the Library, provided estimates of average energy requirements by age, sex and activity level, but not income. Income is not known to influence energy requirements.