products consumed by infants and children is an important consideration in developing dietary comparisons.

Table 5-5 lists the 17 foods (expressed as RACs) that comprise more than 1% of the average U.S. diet, as reported in the 1977–1978 NFCS. Individual age categories were compared to the U.S. average and multiples determined. Only two age categories had multiples in excess of 2: nonnursing infants and 1- to 6-year-old children. Table 5-6 shows percentages for the foods comprising more than 1% of the average diets of various age groups. Table 5-7 presents the multiples of the intake of those foods compared with the U.S. average (e.g., 2.00 means twice the U.S. average; 5.25 means 5-and-a-quarter times the U.S. average). The information in these tables is also presented as RACs.

The numbers in these tables were derived from EPA intake data based on milligrams per kilograms of body weight and are presented as RACs consistent with regulatory practice. Water intake was not considered, except for the water component of milk products, as noted above.

FIGURE 5-7 Mean daily total intake of water by source, age group, and region.

SOURCE: Ershow and Cantor, 1989, p. 27.