Summary All people need the same nutrients, but the amounts required by the individual vary during his lifetime. In the past, nutrition education has been largely based on the Recommended Daily Allowances of the National Research Council. However, with the release of the U.S.-RDAs by the FDA in conjunction with nutrition labeling regulations, the picture has changed. With nutritional labeling incorporating the U.S.-RDAs, the consumer will have more information than ever before. Past surveys have shown one consumer group—the elderly—to have poorer diets than most adult groups. The new information on labels may show them the deficiencies in their diets. This article discusses the implications of nutrition labeling and U.S.-RDAs for the elderly and ways in which nutrition educators can act on the problem. Research over the years has clearly demonstrated that although all people need the same nutrients, the amounts needed vary as the individual proceeds through the life cycle. For example, the elderly—particularly women—need considerably less food energy and lesser amounts of some nutrients than do teenagers or younger adults. Much U.S. nutrition education to date has been based on the recommendations for energy and nutrients for various sex-age groups suggested by the National Academy of Sciences, National Research Council (NRC-RDA) (1). Recently released regulations for the nutrition labeling programs define a single set of nutrient standards for all males and females over four years of age (except for pregnant and lactating women). These standards are identified as the United States Recommended Daily Allowances (U.S.-RDAs) (2-4). They are derived from the NRC-RDAs for 1968 (5). For each nutrient except calcium and phosphorus, they are the largest amounts specified by the NRC-RDAs for any sex-age group (not including pregnant or lactating women). The content of two minerals and five vitamins (possibly other “optional” nutrients) per serving of labeled food will appear on the package as a percentage of these recommended standards (U.S.-RDAs). The elderly appear to be a nutritionally vulnerable group. Fewer of their diets reported in the USDA 1965 Survey of Food Intake of Individuals (6) provided them with 1968 NRC recommended quantities of nutrients than did reported diets for most adult groups. Many elderly persons, especially those with low incomes and certain food-related health problems, could benefit from application of nutrition information presented on food labels. Nutrition educators may, therefore, be interested in the dimensions of the problem—how good or how poor the diets of the elderly really are—as indicated by the survey data presented below. These data cover four vitamins and two minerals for which information will be required if the manufacturer elects to use nutrition labeling: Vitamins A and C, riboflavin (vitamin B-2), thiamin (vitamin B-1), calcium, and iron. The data used herein are from a sub-sample of 1-day diets collected by personal interview in the 1965 USDA Survey of Food Intake of Individuals. The diets of 952 men and women, 65 years and over, comprise all the cases from the urban and rural nonfarm segment of the North Central and Southern regions. Their reports of food and drink consumed in one day include diets which would be considered “usual,” “typical,” “representative,” “average,” or “normal” as well as some diets of the opposite type —unusual or not representative. But overall, this spectrum of 1-day diets could be considered to be a “normal” distribution of dietary intakes with “normal” variations occurring in the two regions. Undoubtedly dietary intakes of the elderly have changed somewhat since 1965, but there are no indications that their diets have improved much. With higher food prices, they may have deteriorated.