Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese 2010: Basic Concepts for Application

The Dietary Reference Intakes for Japanese (DRIs-J) 2010 is not merely as scientific report describing the intake of energy and nutrients necessary for prevention of deficiency/insufficiency and excess but also a source of practical guidelines in planning for dietary improvement in general and in food services by dietitians and other health professionals. This review briefly describes the basic concepts in the application of the DRIs-J 2010. It consists of two sections considering the purposes of use in the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) in Japan: (1) the basic concepts in their application and related issues and (2) the methods of their application. The latter is further divided into 3 sections each describing a goal in the application of the DRIs: (1) improvement of diet for an individual, (2) improvement of diet for a group, and (3) management of food services. A major challenge in the application of the DRIs is that compared to research into determination of the intake of energy and nutrients for development of the DRIs, research into application of the DRIs has been extremely scarce in Japan. Due to lack of evidence, current application of the DRIs is conceptual rather than scientific and practical. Highly scientific research into application of the DRIs is thus urgently needed.