NOTE: The EAR can be used to assess the adequacy of nutrient intakes by groups. To do this, one determines the percentage of individuals whose usual intakes are less than the EAR. From this table it can be seen that less than 5 percent of young men have thiamin intakes less than the EAR, but more than half of young women have reported folate intakes less than the EAR. Appendixes G and H allow more accurate estimates of percentages for all age groups than does this excerpted table.

^a Dietary folate equivalents for the EAR but not for reported dietary intakes. Reported intakes are likely to underestimate true intakes because of limitations of the methods used to analyze the folate content of food (see Chapter 8) and because adjustment has not been made for the higher bioavailability of the folic acid consumed in fortified