How Many Calories Do You Need Per Day?

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Medical Video: Calories Per Day to Lose Weight

If you ever pay attention to the nutritional value information table on food packaging, you will often find the phrase "AKG Percentage based on 2000 kcal energy requirements. Your energy needs may be higher or lower. "This means your calorie needs per day are not the same as others, because many factors can affect your calorie needs. Actually, how do you calculate your daily calorie needs?

What are calories?

Before knowing what your calorie needs are, it's good to know what calories are. Calories are a unit of measurement to express the amount of energy in food. When we eat or drink, we give energy (calories) to our body. The body then uses that energy as fuel for our various activities. The more activities we do, the more energy or calories we use.

The number of calories in a food is usually written in units of "kilocalories" or "kcal". For example, 500 calories will be written as 500 kcal. Besides in kcal, calories can also be written in units of "kilojoules" or "kJ". 1 kJ is equivalent to 0.239 calories.

Daily calorie needs of each person are different

How to calculate the caloric needs of each person is different,because it will be calculated based on gender, age, height and weight, body composition, activities, to each physical condition. The calories needed by men are different from women even though they are in the same age range. Even two twins will have different calorie needs, depending on their physical condition and daily activities.

The standard calorie intake per day varies by country. In America, men are advised to consume 2700 calories per day and women 2200 calories per day. While based on the National Health Service in the UK, men are advised to consume 2500 calories and women 2000 calories. Unlike FAO, it is recommended that the average adult must consume a minimum of 1800 calories per day.

In Indonesia, there is a table of guidelines for nutrition adequacy figures. The table contains recommendations on how many calories are needed by each age group. As an example:

  • 7-11 months old babies with a body weight of 9 kg and a height of 71 cm need 725 kcal of energy per day.
  • Men aged 19-29 years with a body weight of 60 kg and a height of 168 cm need energy of 2725 kcal per day.
  • Women aged 19-29 years with a body weight of 54 kg and a height of 159 cm need energy of 2250 kcal per day.
  • Men over 80 years old need 1525 kcal of energy and women of the same age need 1425 kcal of energy per day.
  • For pregnant women, it takes an additional energy of 180-300 kcal per day, depending on the age of the trimester of pregnancy. Likewise with breastfeeding mothers, in the first 6 months it takes an additional energy of up to 330 kcal and an additional 400 kcal in the next 6 months.

Various ways to calculate calorie needs every day

There are several ways to calculate your calorie needs, namely:

  • Harris-Benedict Formula: this formula includes a formula that is often used by nutritionists. The Harris-Benedict formula takes into account your age, gender, weight, height, and level of physical activity.
    • The formula for calculating men's energy needs is = 66.5 + 13.8 x (body weight in kilograms) + 5 x (height in cm) divided by 6.8 x age.
    • While for women = 655.1 + 9.6 x (body weight in kilograms) + 1.9 x (height in cm) divided by 4.7 x age.
    • The results of this calculation are then multiplied by physical activity factors. If your physical activity is low, then multiply by 1.2. For physical activity being multiplied by 1.3. While heavy physical activity multiplied by 1.4.
  • WHO Formula (World Health Organization): different from the Harris-Benedict formula, this formula is simpler and does not take into account height. WHO formula is divided according to age category. For example, to find the energy needs of women aged 18-29 years, use the formula 14.7 x (body weight in kilograms) + 496. While to find the energy needs of men aged 18-29 years, use the formula 15.3 x (body weight in kilograms) + 679. The result is then multiplied by the factor of physical activity.

Calculator for calorie needs

To make it easier for you to calculate your daily calorie needs, according to your weight, height, age and level of activity, Hello Sehat already provides Calorie Requirement Calculator which you can use by clicking on the image below:

The relationship between caloric needs and health

Although food packaging often lists percent of nutrition adequacy rates based on 2000 kcal energy requirements, you now know that not everyone needs 2000 kcal of energy per day. Your energy needs depend on your sex, age, weight, height, physical condition, and your daily activities. Knowing how much your energy needs per day can help maintain your health because it can affect your daily energy balance.

The principle in fulfilling energy needs is simple, which is balanced, because if you consume more calories than you need, this can lead to increased weight later on while increasing your risk of suffering from various diseases, especially degenerative diseases. But if you consume calories less than your needs, then there will be a decrease in body weight while decreasing the function of organs in the body because they do not get the proper intake.

How Many Calories Do You Need Per Day?
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