Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) is the average daily nutrient intake level estimated to meet the requirement of what percentage of healthy individuals in a life stage or gender group?

• A. 50%
• B. 97-98%
• C. 25%
• D. 75%

Answer: (A)

The concept being tested is that the Estimated Average Requirement represents the daily intake level estimated to meet the nutrient needs of 50% of healthy individuals in a life stage or gender group. This is the median of the requirement distribution, reflecting the point at which half the individuals would meet their needs under normal variation. Because about half need less and half need more, the EAR is used to set the Recommended Dietary Allowance, which is aimed at covering about 97–98% of individuals in the group. The other options (25% and 75%) don’t describe this standard and aren’t the cutoffs used to define the EAR. When data aren’t enough to estimate an EAR, an Adequate Intake is used instead.