How do the guidelines in Module 14 compare to the EPA/DHA table in Module 17?

The amount of omega 3 fatty acids listed in the tables in Module 14 (Omega Requirements for Boys and Girls) are minimum recommended intakes and are not referring to the ideal ratio between omega 3 fatty acids and omega 6 fatty acids. Rather these are the lowest recommended values for growth and development and can be further adjusted during meal planning. Ideally, a child would consume more omega 3 fatty acids than omega 6 fatty acids.

As mentioned in your Module 17, although there isn’t a consensus on the “ideal” ratio, the widespread guidance is that, on average, we should aim to consume a 1:3 ratio of Omega 3 to Omega 6 – or at least below a 1:4 ratio.

Besides being a minimum, the official recommendations from Module 14 do not distinguish Omega 3s in general from each of the DHA and EPA amounts separately, so to be more precise we can look at the values in Module 17 Unit 4.

Regarding consuming direct DHA/EPA, Japanese and other regular fish-eating populations may get sufficient DHA/EPA from the diet, but this may not be the case in modern eating in other regions, so it would depend on what the child is being fed and some parents may opt to use EPA/DHA drops added to foods if there are concerns of low intakes.

There’s some interesting research in here if you’re interested in reading up more on this, and the impact of ratios in children:

• Omega-6/omega-3 fatty acid intake of children and older adults in the U.S.: dietary intake in comparison to current dietary recommendations and the Healthy Eating Index. Sheppard and Cheatham, 2018. Lipids in Health and Disease.
• Do Omega-3/6 Fatty Acids Have a Therapeutic Role in Children and Young People with ADHD? Derbyshire, 2017. Dietary Lipids in health and Disease.

Updated on: 28/10/2026