How Much Should I Eat?

Your body burns (metabolizes) carbohydrates, protein and fat to produce energy and perform other necessary functions. This energy is measured in calories. The amount of calories you need will depend on basal metabolic rate and total daily energy expenditure.These factors in turn depend on your activity level, body size, sex and age.

For example, an older, petite, sedentary woman may need only 1,600 calories a day, but a 25-year-old woman of the same size who is very physically active may need 1,800 to 2,200 calories a day.
On average, daily calorie goals are as follows:
• 1,600 — children ages 2 to 6, most women and some older adults
• 2,000 — average adult
• 2,200 — older children, teenage girls, active women and most men
• 2,800 — teenage boys and active men • For better accuracy of your calorie requirement , we can compute using more complicated formula but will leave it for another session. For those of you who are interested, please drop in a line and we can provide with you a template.

Contributed by Dr Sophia Chew.
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