Exercise and the Institute of Medicine recommendations for nutrition

The Food and Nutrition Board of the Institutes of Medicine (IOM) recently released energy, macronutrient, and fluid recommendations, which acknowledged for the first time that active individuals have unique nutritional needs. The IOM calculated an acceptable macronutrient distribution range for carbohydrate (45%-65% of energy), protein (10%-35% of energy), and fat (20%-35% of energy; limit saturated and trans fats). These proportions provide a range broad enough to cover the macronutrient needs of most active individuals, but specific carbohydrate and protein recommendations are also typically made based on a g/kg body weight formula. These ranges are 5 to 12 g of carbohydrate/kg body weight and 1.2 to 1.8 g/kg body weight for protein depending on the level of physical activity. The IOM report also gives recommendations for the two essential fatty acids: linoleic acid (men, 14-17 g/d; women, 11-12 g/d) and linolenic acid (men, 1.6 g/d; women, 1.1 g/d). Baseline adequate intakes for fluid (water + other beverages) were set at 3.0 L and 2.2 L for sedentary men and women, respectively, with higher intakes needed to account for physical activity and exposure to extreme environments.