Adequate Intake (AI)
A recommended average daily intake based on observed or experimentally determined approximations of nutrient intake by healthy people, used when an EAR cannot be established.
Also: AI
AIs are set when data are insufficient to derive an EAR/RDA, often for infants based on human milk composition, or for nutrients like fiber, water, or vitamin K. An AI is expected to meet or exceed the needs of most individuals in the group, but the lack of distributional certainty means it cannot be used as a target for population adequacy assessment the way an EAR can.
How each textbook covers it
Advanced Nutrition and Human Metabolism, 8th ed. (Gropper) — Glossary
A Dietary Reference Intake (DRI) value set when an RDA cannot be determined because of insufficient data. The AI is based on observed or experimentally determined approximations of nutrient intake by a group of apparently healthy people that are assumed to be adequate.
duyff-complete-food-and-nutrition-guide-5e
Krause and Mahan's Food and the Nutrition Care Process, 16th ed. — Chapter 10
AI is set for nutrients such as fiber, fluid, and several minerals where the data to calculate an EAR are unavailable. It represents an intake assumed to be adequate but carries more uncertainty than an RDA. AI is commonly used in infant and pediatric nutrition.
Modern Nutrition in Health and Disease, 12th ed. — Ch 109: Dietary Reference Intakes
AIs are set when data are insufficient to derive an EAR/RDA, often for infants based on human milk composition, or for nutrients like fiber, water, or vitamin K. An AI is expected to meet or exceed the needs of most individuals in the group, but the lack of distributional certainty means it cannot be used as a target for population adequacy assessment the way an EAR can.
Related terms
DRI, Dietary Reference Intakes, EAR, Estimated Average Requirement, RDA, Recommended Dietary Allowance, Tolerable Upper Intake Level, UL