Daily Calorie Requirement by Age and Lifestyle

Wondering how many calories you should consume each day to stay healthy and energetic? Daily calorie calculator is here to help!

Just enter your age, lifestyle, and activity level and find out your ideal daily calorie intake to support your daily body needs. Take this first step towards a healthier you!

Are you eating the right amount of calories? Use our nutritional utility tool to calculate the calories required for different age groups including children, teenagers, adults, and older adults. Your recommended calorie intake is displayed based on how active you are. Your activity level plays a major role in determining the amount of calories needed per day for a healthy body.

What is a Calorie?

Calorie is nothing but a measure of energy that is required by your body to perform any activity. It is interesting to know that your body needs calories even when you sleep.

Calories are obtained from the food we eat that provides energy to our body. All cells in our body require energy for their function. The food we eat is broken down into energy which is immediately used by the body or stored for later use.

There are two types of calories: small calories (cal) and big calories (Cal or kilocalories) (1^✔).

• A small calorie estimates the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius at one atmospheric pressure.
• A big calorie is a measure of energy obtained from the food source. one big calorie is equal to 1,000 small calories.

Recommended Calorie Intake

Our daily calorie intake is estimated based on factors like age, gender, activity level weight, and height (2^✔).

• On average, a man needs 2,500kcal per day, and
• A woman needs 2,000kcal per day

Factors Impact Caloric Intake

Eating very few or excess calories can be harmful to your health. The number of calories needed per day depends on various factors. These factors determine the calorie intake for a person to maintain their overall health (1^✔) Some of the major factors that have an impact on calorie intake are (3^✔):

• Age:

  Our metabolism and other biological functions slow down as we age. This reduces the calorie intake to maintain optimal health. Younger individuals, children, and teenagers require more calories for growth and development.

• Gender:

  Males generally have more muscle mass than females. So they have higher metabolic rates and require more calories. However, it may vary with individuals.

• Diet:

  It is important to consume nutrient-rich food as much as calorie-rich food is eaten. Digestive health plays a major role in nutrient and calorie absorption and utilization.

• Weight and Height:

  Tall people with ideal or overweight require high-calorie intake to provide energy for biological functions and physical activity. Short and ideal-weight people require a lower calorie intake than tall people.

• Climatic conditions:

  People living in colder climates may need more calorie intake to maintain their body temperature, while extreme heat may reduce appetite and caloric intake.

• Pregnancy:

  Pregnant and breastfeeding women need extra calories to support the growing baby and milk production.

• Hormones:

  Thyroid disorders like hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism can increase or decrease the calorie requirement to the optimal need.

Calories and Energy Balance

Maintaining, losing, or gaining weight depends on everyday calorie intake because our body gains energy from it. Our body uses this energy to perform all the biological functions (breathing, digestion) and physical activities (walking, exercising).

The amount of calories consumed from food and the amount of calories burned by physical activities and metabolism determine the weight changes in our body.

• Weight maintenance:

  To maintain an ideal weight, the amount of calories you consume has to be burned or utilized by your body. It will neither gain nor lose weight. This is known as caloric equilibrium.

• Weight loss:

  To lose weight, it is important to follow a calorie-deficit diet. You consume fewer calories than your body needs. Due to insufficient energy balance, your body uses the stored fat as energy leading to weight loss.

• Weight gain:

  To gain weight, you need to consume more calories than the required amount needed by your body. This is known as a calorie surplus. Extra calories are stored as fat or muscle, depending on the activity level.

The amount of calories you consume plays a fundamental role in weight management. So it is important to take the right amount of calories as per your goal (4^✔).

How to Reduce Calorie Intake

Consuming fewer calories than the required amount is only advisable when you want to lose weight and achieve a healthy BMI (Body Mass Index). For slow and steady weight, be consistent in cutting down your calories.

Make a healthy eating plan and choose food that can make you full without eating a lot of calories.

Some of the strategies that can be followed to reduce your calorie intake are:

• Portion control:

  Use smaller plates and reduce the portion size to avoid overeating. It is better to end your meal before you get full.

• Protein intake:

  Protein takes a longer time to break down and digest than carbohydrates. So it keeps you full and eat fewer calories in your next meal for the day.

• Cut down on sugar:

  Any food that contains sugar adds a lot of hidden calories. Consuming beverages, drinks, chocolates, and sweets will hinder your calorie-deficit diet.

• Fiber intake:

  Fiber is another nutrient that takes a longer time to break down and makes you feel full. It naturally reduces your calorie consumption.

• Skipping high-calorie food:

  Instead of eating calorie-dense snacks like chips and cookies, replace them with nuts, fruits, and yogurt (5^✔).

Calorie Burn

Calorie burn is the amount of calories you must burn to lose weight according to your weight and height.

One can use Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR), Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET), and Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE) to calculate calorie burn manually.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

It is the amount of energy the body needs to perform all the biological functions like breathing, digestion, heartbeat, and blood circulation. Using the Harris-Benedict equation, BMR can be calculated.

For women,

BMR=10×weight (kg)+6.25×height (cm)−5×age (years)−161

For men,

BMR=10×weight (kg)+6.25×height (cm)−5×age (years)+5 (6^✔)

Metabolic Equivalent of Task (MET)

It is the amount of calories burned during physical activity like walking, running, and other exercises. Each activity has a specific MET value. To calculate MET,

Calorie burned = MET × weight (kg) × duration (hours) (7^✔)

Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)

Multiply your BMR with an activity factor based on your daily physical activity. TDEE=BMR×Activity Factor

Activity factors

• Sedentary (little or no exercise): TDEE=BMR×1.2
• Light activity (light exercise/sports 1-3 days a week): TDEE=BMR×1.375
• Moderate activity (moderate exercise/sports 3-5 days a week): TDEE=BMR×1.55
• Active (hard exercise/sports 6-7 days a week): TDEE=BMR×1.725

Very active (very hard exercise/physical job or exercise twice a day): TDEE=BMR×1.9 (8^✔)

Calorie Counting

when we eat and drink more calories without tracking the amount of intake, our body will store the excess calories as fat. This will eventually lead to weight gain. So it is important to keep track of how many calories you eat a day according to your body’s requirements. Some of the practices to count your calorie intake are,

• Daily calorie need:

  Find your daily calorie needs using BMR and TDEE.

• Calorie intake goal:

  Set a calorie intake goal as per your need. It can be maintaining your weight, losing your weight, or weight gain.

• Track your food intake:

  Use a food diary or a calorie-counting app to record what you eat and drink.
  Check for calorie information in the nutrition labels behind the package or search for how many calories are in each food item.

• Monitor portion sizes:

  Weigh your food and find how many calories you’re consuming.

• Calculate burned calories:

  If you are working out or doing some exercise, track your calories burned by the physical activity and consume your food with the required calories (9^✔)

Looking for a daily caloric value guide to stay healthy? Enter your details below and know how much of calorie is recommended for your age and lifestyle.