Recommended Dietary Allowances for Normal Healthy Persons in Singapore (Children & Adolescents)


Age Group Height Weight Iron Vit A
(retinol)
equiv.
Vit D Thiamin Riboflavin Niacin
Equiv
  (a) (a) (d),(e) (f),(g) (d),(h),(j)
(g) (f) (f),(i)
Units cm kg mg mcg mcg mg mg mg
 3 - < 6 mths - 7 7 300 10.0 0.28 0.42 4.6
 6 - < 9 mths  - 8.5 7  300 10.0 0.32 0.49 5.3
 9 - < 12 mths - 9.5  7 300 10.0 0.38 0.57 6.3
 1 - < 2 yrs  - 11 7 250 10.0 0.46 0.69 7.6
 2 - < 3 yrs - 13.5 7 250 10.0 0.54 0.81 8.9
 3 - < 5 yrs - 16.5 7 300 10.0 0.62 0.93 10.2
Boys
 5 - < 7 yrs - 20.5 7 300 10.0 0.74 1.11 12.2
 7 - < 10 yrs  - 27 7 400 2.5 0.84 1.26 13.9
 10 - < 12 yrs 144 34.5
 7 575 2.5 0.88 1.32 14.5
 12 - < 14 yrs 157
 44 12 725 2.5 0.96 1.44 15.8
 14 - < 16 yrs 168 55.5 12 725 2.5 1.06 1.59 17.5
 16 - < 18 yrs 176 64
 6 750 2.5 1.14 1.71 18.8
Girls
 5 - < 7 yrs- 20.5 7 300 10.5 0.70 1.05 11.6
 7 - < 10 yrs  - 27 7 400 2.5 0.72 1.08 11.9
 10 - < 12 yrs  145 36 7 575 2.5 0.78 1.17 12.9
 12 - < 14 yrs 157 46.5 18 725 2.5 0.84 1.26 13.9
 14 - < 16 yrs 161 52  18 725 2.5 0.86 1.29 14.2
 16 - < 18 yrs 163
 54 19 750 2.5 0.86 1.29 14.2

Recommended Dietary Allowances for Normal Healthy Persons in Singapore (Children & Adolescents)

Vitamin Vit B12 Vit B6 Ascorbic Acid Folic Acid
Unit mcg mg mg mcg
Age Group        
0-6 mths 0.4 0.1 35 65
7-12 mths 0.5 0.3 45 80
1-2 years 0.9 0.5 35 150
3-6 years 1.1 0.6 50 200
Boys        
7-12 years
1.8 1.0 70 300
13-18 years 2.4 1.4 105 350
Girls        
7-12 years 1.8 1.0 65 300
13-18 years 2.2 1.2 80 350

RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCES FOR NORMAL HEALTHY PERSONS IN SINGAPORE (Adults)

  Men Women
    Pregnant Women Lactating women
Age Group 18 - < 30 yrs 30 - < 60 yrs 60 yrs and above 18 - < 30 yrs 30 - < 60 yrs 60 yrs and above Full Activ
ities
Reduc
ed Activ
ities
First 6 mths After 6 mths
Ht (a) cm 170 170 170 160 160 160 - - - -
Wt (a) kg 63.5 63.5 63.5 54 54 54 - - - -
Iron (d),
(e)
mg8
8
8
18
18
8
27
27
9
18
Vit A
(retinol)
equiv.
(f),
(g)
mcg 750 750 750 750 750 750 750 750 1200 1200
Vit D (d),
(h),
(j)
mcg 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.5 10.0 10.0 10.0 10.0
Thiamin (g) mg 1.18 1.16 0.98 0.84 0.86 0.80 +0.11 +0.08 +0.2 +0.2
Riboflavin (f) mg 1.77 1.74 1.47 1.26 1.29 1.20 +0.17 +0.12 +0.30 +0.30
Niacin
Equiv.
(f),
(i)
mg 19.5 19.1 16.2 13.9 14.2 13.2 +1.9 +1.3 +3.3 +3.3

​RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCES FOR NORMAL HEALTHY PERSONS IN SINGAPORE (Adults)

   

Men

Women

Age Group

 

19-50 years

51-65 years

>65 years

19-50 years

51-65 years

>65 years

Pregnant

Lactating

Vit B12

mcg

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.4

2.6

2.8

Vit B6

mg

1.3

1.7

1.7

1.3

1.5

1.5

1.9

2.0

Ascorbic Acid

mg

105

105

105

85

85

85

100

135

Folic Acid

mcg

400

400

400

400

400

400

600

500

RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCE FOR CALCIUM

Age Groups RDA for Calcium
Infants (0 - 6 months, breast-fed) 300mg
Infants (0 - 6 months, formula-fed) 400mg
Infants (7 - less than 12 months) 400mg
Children (1 - 3 years) 500mg
Children (4 - 6 years) 600mg
Children (7 - 9 years) 700mg
Adolescents (10 - 18 years) 1,000mg
Adults (19 - 50 years) 800mg
Adults (51 years and above) 1,000mg
Breastfeeding / pregnant 1,000mg
Notes:
(a) Energy and Protein Requirements. WHO Technical Repost Series No. 724, 1985.
Kilojoules (kJ) are calculated from the relation, 1 kilocalorie = 4.18 kJ.
(b) For infants, Net Protein Utilization (NPU) is taken as 80%.
For all others, NPU is taken as 70%.
(c) Calcium Requirements. Report of a FAO/WHO Expert Group, FAO, Rome, 1961.
(d) Requirements of Ascorbic Acid, Vitamin D, Vitamin B12, Folate and Iron.
Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Group, FAO, Rome, 1970.
Dietary Reference Intakes for Vitamin A, Vitamin K, Arsenic, Boron, Chromium, Copper, Iodine, Iron, Manganese, Molybdenum, Nickel, Silicon, Vanadium, and Zinc: a Report of the Panel of Micronutrients. Institute of Medicine. Food and Nutrition Board, 2001.
(e) Values apply when 10-25% of energy in diet comes from animal foods.
(f) Requirements of Vitamin A, Thiamin, Riboflavin and Niacin. Report of a Joint FAO/WHO Expert Group, FAO, Rome, 1965.
(g) 1 retinol equivalent = 1 mcg retinal of 6 mcg - carotene or 12 mcg biologically active carotenoids.
(h) As cholecalciferol.
(i) 1 niacin equivalent = 1 mg available nicotinic acid or 60 mg tryptophan.
(j) 2.5mcg of Vitamin D is only applicable to Singapore, which is a tropical country and has strong sunlight exposure all year round.

Energy

Summary of Average Requirements for Energy (kcal/day) by Life Stage Group

Infants and young children  

Age

Male

Female

1 month

410

370

2 months

480

430

3 months

590

540

4 months

530

480

5 months

570

520

6 months

600

560

7 months

620

570

8 months

650

590

9 months

670

620

10 months

690

630

11 months

680

640

12 months

740

640

1 year

880

810

2 years

1080

1000

3 years

1160

1070

4 years

1310

1190

5 years

1440

1320

 Based on FAO/WHO/UNU 2004 equation and median Singapore weights (Source: Anthropometric Study on Pre-school Children in Singapore, National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, 2000) 

Children and adolescents  

Age

Male

Female

Light  physical activity

Moderate physical activity

Vigorous physical activity

Light  physical activity

Moderate physical activity

Vigorous physical activity

6 years

1320

1550

1780

1210

1420

1630

7 years

1360

1600

1840

1280

1500

1730

8 years

1480

1740

2000

1380

1620

1860

9 years

1650

1940

2230

1500

1760

2020

10 years

1790

2110

2430

1620

1910

2200

11 years

1940

2280

2620

1760

2070

2380

12 years

2150

2530

2910

1900

2230

2570

13 years

2330

2740

3150

1960

2310

2660

14 years

2480

2920

3360

2010

2360

2710

15 years

2580

3030

3490

2030

2390

2750

16 years

2650

3120

3590

2040

2400

2760

17 years

2700

3180

3660

2040

2400

2760

18 years

2750

3230

3720

2050

2410

2770

Based on FAO/WHO/UNU 2004 equation and median Singapore weights (Source: Anthropometric Study on Pre-school Children in Singapore, National Healthcare Group Polyclinics, 2000) 

Adults 

Age

Male

Female

Low

active

Moderate active

Very

Active

Low

active

Moderate active

Very active

18-29 years

2280

2700

3720

1745

2070

2840

30-59 years

2185

2590

3560

1720

2035

2800

> 60 years

1885

2235

3070

1570

1865

2560

 









Based on Oxford equation (Henry, 2005) and NHS 2010 mean weights 

Pregnancy

2ndtrimester

+ 370

3rdtrimester

+ 480

 (FAO/WHO/UNU 2004) 

Lactation  

Up to 12 months

+ 500

 (FAO/WHO/UNU 2004) 

Examples of different activity levels:

Category

Description

Light physical activity

  • Individuals who spend several hours at school or in sedentary occupations
  • Individuals who do not practise physical sports regularly
  • Individuals who generally use motor vehicles for transportation
  • Individuals who spend most leisure time in activities that require little physical effort (e.g. watching TV, reading, using computers)

Moderate physical activity

  • More strenuous than described for a light lifestyle, but not as demanding as a vigorous lifestyle as described below (e.g. individuals who work as kitchen staff or  cleaners)
  • Individuals who participate in regular leisure time activity, such as walking, cycling or gardening, for several hours each week

Vigorous physical activity

  • Individuals who walk or ride bicycles every day over long distances
  • Individuals who practise sports or exercise that demand a high level of physical effort for several hours, several days of the week
  • Individuals who engage in energy-demanding occupations or perform energy-demanding chores for several hours each day(e.g. heavy industrial work, construction work or farming)

Adapted from FAO/WHO/UNU, 2004 and Hall KD, Sacks G, Chandramohan D, Chow CC, Wang YC, Gortmaker SL, Swinburn BA. Quantification of the effect of energy imbalance on bodyweight. Lancet. 2011 Aug 27;378(9793):826-37.

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