Calculate Your Calorie Demand
Our daily energy consumption is composed of the resting energy consumption and the performance consumption.
Rest energy consumption (BMI 18.5 - 24.9)
The resting energy consumption is the amount of energy that our body uses during physical and mental rest. Gender, age, body weight and a number of calculation factors serve as the basis for calculating resting energy consumption, taking into account food-induced thermogenesis (the energy that our body has to use to digest food).
Men: (0.047 x weight in kg - 0.01452 x age in years + 4.219) x 239
Example: A 70kg man aged 31 has a resting energy consumption of:
(0.047 x 70 kg - 0.01452 x 31 years + 4.219) x 239 = 1,687 kcal / day
Women: (0.047 x weight in kg - 0.01452 x age in years + 3.210) x 239
Example: A 70kg woman at the age of 31 has a resting energy consumption of:
(0.047 x 70 kg - 0.01452 x 31 years + 3.210) x 239 = 1,550 kcal / day
Performance consumption
Any stress on body functions that goes beyond this resting energy consumption means an additional energy requirement. This additional energy is the power turnover. How high a person's total energy requirement is depends on his resting energy consumption and his physical activity. For this purpose, the resting energy consumption is multiplied by an activity factor, the so-called PAL factor. PAL stands for "physical activity level", it is the measure of physical activity.
Exclusively sedentary or lying lifestyle, PAL Factor: 1.2 - 1.3
Examples: Frail, immobile, bedridden people
Only sedentary work with little or no strenuous leisure activity, PAL Factor: 1.4 - 1.5
Examples: Office workers, precision mechanics
Sedentary work, occasionally additional energy expenditure for walking and standing activities, little or no strenuous leisure activity, PAL Factor: 1.6 - 1.7
Examples: Laboratories, students, assembly line workers
Mostly walking and standing work, PAL Factor: 1.8 - 1.9
Examples: Sellers, waiters, mechanics, artisans
Physically demanding professional work or very active leisure activities, PAL Factor: 2.0 - 2.4
Examples: Construction workers, farmers, forest workers, miners, competitive athletes
Total energy consumption / calorie requirement
Example: A man (or a woman) with a basic metabolism of 1,687 kcal / day and a PAL factor of 1.8 has a total energy requirement of:
1,687 kcal / day x 1.6 PAL factor = 2,699 kcal / day
So now we know how to determine our energy consumption. I explain the calculation of our energy intake in the article "Calculate calorie intake".
