Nutrient intake statistics show how much energy, macronutrients, vitamins, minerals, fatty acids, and stimulants people consumed in a defined population. In the USDA What We Eat in America/NHANES 2017–2018 Day 1 dietary-recall tables, estimates describe U.S. individuals and are based on foods and beverages, including water. They exclude dietary supplements and medications, and breast-fed children were excluded.
Contents
- How to read these nutrient intake estimates
- Average energy and macronutrient intake
- Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
- B vitamins and folate
- Vitamins, calcium, and related minerals
- Minerals, electrolytes, and stimulants
- What snack occasions contributed
How to read these nutrient intake estimates
The figures below are descriptive U.S. population estimates for 2017–2018, not forecasts or individual dietary advice. Most values come from Day 1 24-hour dietary recalls and use dietary-analysis sample weights. A mean describes the average for the specified age, sex, or income group; it does not describe every person in that group.
The primary source is the WWEIA/NHANES 2017–2018 Data Tables. Because the source reports different population groups for different tables, comparisons should preserve those group definitions. For example, the income-based macronutrient figures below are for people aged 2 and older in families earning $0–$24,999, while several micronutrient figures are for U.S. males aged 2 and older or for males and females aged 2 and older.
Average energy and macronutrient intake
Among U.S. individuals aged 2 and older in families earning $0–$24,999, mean daily intake from food and beverages was 2,084 kilocalories in 2017–2018. The same group consumed a mean 75.7 grams of protein, 253 grams of carbohydrate, and 82.6 grams of total fat per day. These numbers describe the selected income group; they are not an estimate for all U.S. residents.
| Measure | Mean daily intake | Population group | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Energy | 2,084 kilocalories | U.S. individuals aged 2+, family income $0–$24,999 | 2017–2018 |
| Protein | 75.7 grams | Same group | 2017–2018 |
| Carbohydrate | 253 grams | Same group | 2017–2018 |
| Total fat | 82.6 grams | Same group | 2017–2018 |
| Dietary fiber | 15.3 grams | Same group | 2017–2018 |
The dataset also reports a mean 115 grams of total sugars and 15.3 grams of dietary fiber per day for this group. Total sugars and dietary fiber are separate measures: one describes sugars consumed, while the other describes fiber consumed. The figures should not be treated as a recommended balance or as a diagnosis of dietary adequacy.
The fat detail is also useful. Mean saturated fat intake was 26.9 grams per day, compared with 28.1 grams of monounsaturated fat and 19.2 grams of polyunsaturated fat. These are intake measurements for the same U.S. age and family-income group and the same 2017–2018 period.
Saturated and unsaturated fatty acids
The USDA tables break fatty-acid intake into individual chain-length categories for some groups. Among U.S. males aged 20–29, mean daily intake in 2017–2018 included 0.54 grams of 4:0 saturated fatty acid, 0.34 grams of 6:0, 0.26 grams of 8:0, 0.57 grams of 10:0, and 0.80 grams of 12:0.
For the same population and period, the mean was 2.65 grams of 14:0 saturated fatty acid, 17.43 grams of 16:0, and 7.66 grams of 18:0. The table also reports 20.49 grams of 18:2 polyunsaturated fatty acid per day.
These measurements illustrate why a total-fat figure and an individual fatty-acid figure are not interchangeable. The 18:2 value is specifically identified as polyunsaturated fatty acid, while the 4:0 through 18:0 values listed here are identified as saturated fatty-acid categories. Each result applies to U.S. males aged 20–29, not to all adults or to all fatty acids consumed.
B vitamins and folate
For U.S. males aged 2 and older, mean intake in 2017–2018 was 2.34 milligrams of riboflavin per day, 29.7 milligrams of niacin, and 2.47 milligrams of vitamin B6. The same group consumed a mean 5.69 micrograms of vitamin B12 per day, including a mean 1.40 micrograms of added vitamin B12.
Folate is reported in several forms. Mean intake was 204 micrograms of folic acid per day and 215 micrograms of food folate per day. The corresponding mean intake of dietary folate equivalents was 561 micrograms per day. These are different reported measures, so they should be retained as separate statistics rather than combined.
| B-vitamin or related measure | Mean daily intake | Population | Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riboflavin | 2.34 mg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Niacin | 29.7 mg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Vitamin B6 | 2.47 mg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Folic acid | 204 mcg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Food folate | 215 mcg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Dietary folate equivalents | 561 mcg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Choline | 359 mg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
| Vitamin B12 | 5.69 mcg | U.S. males aged 2+ | 2017–2018 |
Mean choline intake was 359 milligrams per day for U.S. males aged 2 and older. The reported folate and B-vitamin values are population means from dietary recalls, not targets for a particular person’s meal plan.
Vitamins, calcium, and related minerals
Among U.S. males aged 2 and older, mean daily intake was 79.0 milligrams of vitamin C, 4.9 micrograms of vitamin D, 9.9 milligrams of vitamin E as alpha-tocopherol, and 1.1 milligrams of added vitamin E in 2017–2018. Mean vitamin K intake was 112.8 micrograms per day.
The same group consumed a mean 1,078 milligrams of calcium, 1,543 milligrams of phosphorus, and 320 milligrams of magnesium per day. These values are reported for males aged 2 and older, so they should not be silently generalized to females or to a different age range.
The calcium statistic changes when the population definition changes. For U.S. males and females aged 20 and older, mean calcium intake was 966 milligrams per day in 2017–2018. That figure is not directly interchangeable with the 1,078-milligram estimate for U.S. males aged 2 and older because both the sex and age definitions differ.
Minerals, electrolytes, and stimulants
For U.S. males and females aged 2 and older, mean daily intake in 2017–2018 was 14.0 milligrams of iron, 10.7 milligrams of zinc, 1.1 milligrams of copper, and 109.6 micrograms of selenium. Mean potassium intake was 2,496 milligrams per day, while mean sodium intake was 3,389 milligrams.
The sodium estimate was higher for the narrower group of U.S. males and females aged 20 and older: 3,531 milligrams per day. As with calcium, the age-specific result should be read as a separate estimate rather than as a correction to the all-ages-2-and-older figure.
The tables also quantify stimulant-related compounds. Mean caffeine intake was 136.2 milligrams per day among U.S. males and females aged 2 and older, and mean theobromine intake was 41.9 milligrams. The population includes children aged 2 and older, so the reported mean is not an adult-only caffeine estimate.
What snack occasions contributed
Snack occasions supplied measurable shares of several nutrients among U.S. males and females aged 2 and older in 2017–2018. These percentages refer to foods and beverages consumed at snack occasions, among individuals reporting that occasion. They represent shares of total daily intake, not the percentage of snack foods that contain a nutrient.
Snack occasions supplied 23% of total daily cholesterol intake, 13% of vitamin A intake, 27% of beta-carotene intake, and 36% of lycopene intake. The largest share in this group was therefore the reported contribution to lycopene intake, at 36%.
The same snack-occasion analysis found that snacks supplied 21% of total daily thiamin, 21% of riboflavin, 21% of niacin, and 21% of vitamin B6 intake. Snacks also supplied 21% of total daily folate intake measured in dietary folate equivalents.
| Nutrient | Share supplied by snack occasions | Population and period |
|---|---|---|
| Cholesterol | 23% | U.S. males and females aged 2+, 2017–2018 |
| Vitamin A | 13% | Same group and period |
| Beta-carotene | 27% | Same group and period |
| Lycopene | 36% | Same group and period |
| Thiamin | 21% | Same group and period |
| Riboflavin | 21% | Same group and period |
| Niacin | 21% | Same group and period |
| Vitamin B6 | 21% | Same group and period |
| Folate, dietary folate equivalents | 21% | Same group and period |
Taken together, these snack statistics show that snack occasions contributed to both nutrient totals and nutrient composition, but they do not identify which individual foods produced those shares. They also do not establish whether a person’s overall intake was adequate. The estimates remain descriptive results from the 2017–2018 U.S. dietary-recall data.