Normal calories to maintain an average body weight

[chaitra]

How many calories does a healthy person need every day?

The number of calories that a person consumes per day is dependent on the number of calories that the body requires in order to perform normal physical activities without altering the normal physiological balance of the body. The number of calories that a person requires in order to meet the requirements of body varies from person to person. The amount of calories that an individual needs to consume is divided into three important divisions like basal metabolic rate, physical activity and thermo genic food factor. The basal metabolic rate is the rate at which the main systems in our body function by the utilization of energy at rest. This includes calories used to provide energy for the normal functioning of heart and respiratory system etc. The physical activity includes daily core activities like cleaning, walking, running, playing, exercises and work outs, etc. All these use energy by burning the calories and are dependent on an individual’s body weight. Thermo genic effect occurs by breaking down the food particles in the body and utilizing it for digestion. You can calculate the total number of calories by the sum of these three average scores.

On an average a healthy person needs roughly around 2000 to 2500 calories per day. For females it is 2000 calories per day and males require about 2500 calories per day roughly. Again the exact amount of calorie requirement varies based on age, sex, height, weight, puberty, race, level of activity, pregnancy, parturition etc. Based on sex factor, females require lesser calories when compared to males.

The amount of calories required based on weight factor is mentioned below. It contrasts the body requirements based on a level of activity and weight. The average amount of calories consumed by a healthy individual leading a sedentary life would be lesser than the one involved in physical activities. In a healthy person with normal weight, the burnt calories must be replenished in order to maintain a normal body mass. This is because of the increase in body demand in order to utilize energy for these physical activities while a resting normal person may not use so much of energy and hence it is less. But this is not true in an overweight person who does intense work outs at gym and intends to lose weight. The calorie intake must be low in order to burn stored fat.

Based on the height factor, a taller person needs more calories than a short person related to their respective body weight and level of activity. Calorie requirements change as we age. A young person can take more number of calories than an older individual this is because of the reduced body demand at an older age. Also the calorie requirement in an overweight individual is lesser then the normal number of calories in order to prevent a calorie deficit which could interfere with the weight loss process as the burnt number of calories gets replaced by eating more. Hence it is advised to be on a low calorie diet to achieve weight loss.

The calorie requirement during puberty is higher than any other age group. This is because the body is still at a stage of growth development process and has higher demands in order to achieve normal height and weight of long bones. Also an exercising teenager requires more number of calories than a non-exercising teenager. This is because the body uses more energy and hence it is necessary to replenish more number of calories to achieve normal weight.

Calculating the number of calories is not the way of losing weight as any weight loss plan does not yield you good results without an exercise. So the best thing that you can do is follow a natural cholesterol free diet or a balanced diet with regular exercising activities. This could help you to succeed in losing weight. If you are more concerned about the amount of calories that you derive by consuming proteins, carbohydrates and fat, then 1 gm of proteins and carbohydrates yield around 4 calories. The highest amount of calories is yielded by fat as 1gm of it contains 9 calories. Hence it is advised to stay on a low fat diet in case of overweight people in order to avoid calorie deficit during exercises or intense work out sessions.

[Carol]

Thanks for such an informative article. It is true that different people with different age groups, height, gender, activity level and weight need different amount of calorie intake per day. So just don't go by a standard number of calories needed by the body that you read on the intrenet and books, instead, One has to understand the number of calories needed by their body depending upon what group one falls in.