Calories are always listed at the top of Nutrition Facts Table. Getting enough calories is absolutely essential for proper energy, growth, development, and overall health (1). You need them. Importantly, the optimal eating method is to obtain your calories from nutrient-dense foods at least 85% of the time (1). Thus, using the Smile Food System to select foods will favorably contribute to your appropriate daily caloric intake, which varies by individual. If you are curious, you can consult various websites for assistance with determining your ideal caloric intake. Recommendations, however, are rough estimates only, and you would do well to also pay attention to internal hunger and fullness cues to know how much food you need in a day. If you have further questions or concerns, you can speak with your doctor or consult a registered dietitian for personalized support. If you are curious about the number of estimated calories you need in a day, we provide a helpful primer here, drawing upon advice and guidelines from reputable authorities, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. You can review the best information yourself by using these links to great resources:
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/index.html
https://www.fda.gov/food/new-nutrition-facts-label/calories-new-nutrition-facts-label
https://www.nal.usda.gov/legacy/fnic/dri-calculator/
However, we also encourage you to be aware that these calculators are rough estimates and that your energy needs change daily depending on movement, stress, sleep, and similar factors. For some, focusing on calories can be stressful and psychologically harmful, so please use these links with caution. For others, knowing daily energy requirements can be an empowering and helpful tool. Be aware that your body also has powerful biological mechanisms in place to tell you when and how much to eat, which is regulated by various hormones. Getting in touch with your body’s signals of hunger, fullness, need for rest, or need for movement may be a more helpful and accurate way to regulate food intake rather than relying on an estimated caloric recommendation. For more information about getting in touch with your body’s signals, visit the Intuitive Eating website (2).
Most of the advice on caloric intake says that the ideal number for each person is idiosyncratic (personal and individual) because a person’s required calories depend on age, gender, body size including height and weight, metabolism, levels of physical activities (1), and the need to lose, gain, or maintain one’s weight (6). Maintaining a “normal” body weight (BMI between 18.5 – 25) is encouraged by the U.S. government’s panels of experts; however, many individuals can still be metabolically healthy while maintaining a higher body weight (BMI >25)(3). In fact, one study even suggests that those who maintain an “overweight” body size (BMI range 25-30) may have a lower all-cause mortality than “normal” weight individuals (4), suggesting health may be dictated by more than body weight alone. Behaviors such as dietary patterns, movement, stress, sleep, and alcohol and tobacco consumption may play a more important role in overall health outcomes than body weight alone(5). While knowing calorie ranges for some may be helpful, for others it may not be necessary and instead may add stress. For some, focusing on positive health behaviors may be an effective and less stressful tool.
Primer on Calories
If you are interested in learning more about calorie ranges for various populations, the following are some key points:
Daily caloric intake recommendations are a range. That is, no single caloric number exists that every adult should follow. Here are the latest USDA recommended ranges of caloric intake daily: 1600 to 2400 for women 19-59 years old and 2200 to 3000 for men in the same age range (1). While female and male children aged 2 through 8 are advised to consume much less than the adult caloric intake (from 1000 to 2000) (1), they are very active physically with growing bodies and brains, requiring significant energy from calories and other nutrients. Additionally, children aged 9 through 13 may have daily calorie requirements ranging between 1400 – 2600 (1), and children 14 through 18 years old may range all the way up to 3200 calories per day (1)! All children must consume sufficient calories to support normal growth and development without excess weight gain. Thus, a growing, active child may indeed need calories closely approximating those required by adults or even higher than many adults. Many adults are sedentary due to work and lifestyle choices, so they might be better served consuming the same or fewer calories than active teenagers.
Men typically are advised to consume more than women because of their larger size, but this simple rule may lead to over consumption in small- and medium-size inactive men and under consumption in tall and active women.
On the extreme ends of the caloric intake spectrum are infants and teenage boys. An infant requires approximately 1000 calories per day, and the value goes up for everyone after that, until approximately age 60, when metabolism changes, and the caloric needs are reduced. The upper end of recommended daily intake is 3200 calories per day, for an active male ages 16 to 18. But keep in mind, these are general recommendations, and some individuals may require even more calories depending on frame size and activity level.
References
- U.S. Department of Agriculture and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. :164.
- Intuitive Eating [Internet]. [cited 2022 Feb 3]. Available from: https://www.intuitiveeating.org/
- Wildman RP, Muntner P, Reynolds K, McGinn AP, Rajpathak S, Wylie-Rosett J, Sowers MR. The obese without cardiometabolic risk factor clustering and the normal weight with cardiometabolic risk factor clustering: prevalence and correlates of 2 phenotypes among the US population (NHANES 1999-2004). Arch Intern Med 2008;168:1617–24.
- Flegal KM, Graubard BI, Williamson DF, Gail MH. Excess deaths associated with underweight, overweight, and obesity. JAMA 2005;293:1861–7.
- Matheson EM, King DE, Everett CJ. Healthy lifestyle habits and mortality in overweight and obese individuals. J Am Board Fam Med 2012;25:9–15.
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Healthy Weight, Nutrition, and Physical Activity: Find a Balance. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/calories/index.html