The Dietary Reference Intakes Calculator for Health Professionals is a recently released free app from the USDA. This handy calculator is available in both Apple and Android versions and as a web-based tool. While targeted at health professionals, especially registered dietitians, this calculator can be easily used by anyone. You put in height, weight, age, sex and an estimate of activity level and the calculator instantly reports BMI, calorie recommendations, and recommendations for protein, fat, carbohydrates, water, vitamins and minerals. If you have questions about any of the nutrients, you can tap the screen for additional information. Most of the vitamins and minerals are linked to the National Institutes of Health’s excellent fact sheets. The app also allows users to read about the Dietary Reference Intakes which are what daily nutrient recommendations are based on. Nutrition education resources for diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, weight management, and other conditions are easily accessed from this app. This app does not tell you whether or not your diet meets recommendations – for that you can use USDA’s SuperTracker, vegan RD Jack Norris’ Peacounter, or other software. I’ve recommended the web-based version of this calculator for several years; I’m happy to recommend this app.

Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

For more information about this app, visit: http://fnic.nal.usda.gov/dietary-guidance/dietary-reference-intakes/dietary-reference-intake-calculator-healthcare