While adults may need to consume 1,600 to 3,000 calories each day, the exact calories a person must consume may vary depending on height, age, sex, and lifestyle.
Calories Explained
Calories refer to the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of a gram of water through 1 degree Celsius.
These calories are crucial for human health, as everyone needs varying levels of energy each day. Without energy, the body will end up dying, the lungs and heart will stop functioning, and the organs will not be able to execute their basic functions. Calories are mainly absorbed from foods and drinks consumed by people.
The food type and amount consumed by people determine the calories that they take. When a person regularly consumes more energy than they need, they will end up gaining weight. In the same way, if they consume less, they will end up losing fat, weight, and even muscle mass.
Recommended Calorie Intake
The 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans state that adult females likely need 1,600 to 2,400 calories each day, while adult males require 2,200 to 3,000 calories daily.
For toddlers, the recommended daily intake is 700 calories, while the recommended intake for an active male from 16 to 18 years old is 3,200 calories.
However, the exact figure depends on a person's height, size, age, lifestyle, general health, and level of physical activity.
Nevertheless, according to general guidelines, people need the most calories during their adolescent and young adulthood years. As people become older, their metabolic rate starts slowing down, and some individuals may also decrease their activity. This also reduces their energy requirements.
Calorie Burning
Energy is crucial for the human body to stay alive. In fact, roughly 20% of the metabolic energy that people consume from food ends up being consumed by the brain.
The energy needs of a person are usually accounted for by the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which refers to the daily energy required by individuals for them to sustain their life functions, such as breathing, digestion, and blood circulation.
The term energy expenditure is used by health experts to describe the total energy that people use. Total expenditure is the sum of the BMR, the thermic effect of food, which is the needed energy for food digestion and absorption, as well as the energy people use when engaging in physical activity.
Thus, to maintain a balanced weight, people need to balance the energy they consume with the energy they expend. This explains why, when people desire weight loss, they can boost their physical activity for more calories to be burned and for their energy expenditure to be higher than their intake.
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