Preparing for the review of Dietary Reference Intake values for macronutrients: Update from the Joint Federal Canada-U.S. DRI Working Group
September 24, 2025 | 12:00 PM - 01:00 PM
2025-09-24 12:00 PM 2025-09-24 01:00 PM Preparing for the review of Dietary Reference Intake values for macronutrients: Update from the Joint Federal Canada-U.S. DRI Working Group America/New_YorkSpeakers:
Krista Esslinger, MSc, RD (Health Canada) and Matthew Parrott, PhD (Health Canada)
Joint Federal Canada-U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes Working Group
Webinar description:
Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs) are nutrient standards that provide an important scientific underpinning to nutrition policy and practice. Canada and the United States have collaborated since the mid-1990s to provide joint support for developing the DRI values.
The current DRI values for macronutrients were published in 2002 and have been prioritized for review. The complex and inter-related nature of the macronutrients, as well as evolutions to the DRI framework, required the development of a strategic plan and a new approach to preparing for a review. This webinar will provide an update on the work that the Joint Federal Canada-U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes Working Group has been conducting behind the scenes in support of the upcoming review of DRI values for protein, fat, carbohydrate and fibre.
Krista Esslinger will describe the complementary roles of the various players involved in setting DRI values, including the activities of the working group and the anticipated structure of the macronutrient review.
Matthew Parrott will present on the use of evidence scans to assist in identifying and assembling the evidence needed to inform the review of the macronutrient DRI values.
Learning Objectives:
- Learn about the complementary roles of the Joint Federal Canada-U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes Working Group, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, and the Standing Committee for the Review of the DRI Framework as they work towards a review of the macronutrients
- Understand the many approaches for gathering and synthesizing the evidence needed for estimating DRI values
- Learn about the considerations and timelines as we prepare for the forthcoming macronutrient DRI review
Moderator: Amanda MacFarlane, PhD (Health Canada)
About the Speakers:
Krista Esslinger - has been with Health Canada for over 20 years and is currently a Nutrition Advisor in the Bureau of Healthy Eating Policy and Promotion. Her main area of work is the translation of evidence into policy and development of dietary guidance. She is also actively involved in the implementation of the Dietary Reference Intakes into federal nutrition policies. She is currently chair of the Joint Federal Canada-U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes Working Group, which acts on behalf of both countries to keep nutrient reference values up to date.
Dr. Matthew Parrott - is a Scientific Evaluator in the Bureau of Nutritional Sciences at Health Canada. He has a PhD in nutritional sciences from the University of Toronto with basic, clinical, and epidemiological research experience in the area of nutrition and neurocognitive ageing. He worked as a scientist at the PERFORM Centre of Concordia University (Montreal) as part of the Nutrition, Exercise, and Lifestyle Team of the Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration in Aging. While at Health Canada he has contributed to several scientific projects including systematic reviews, validation of the Nutrition QUality Evaluation Strengthening Tools (NUQUEST), and evidence preparation activities of the Joint Federal Canada-U.S. Dietary Reference Intakes Working Group.
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