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What is a Normal Caloric Intake?

Normal caloric intake depends on your age, stature, activity level, lifestyle, gender and nutritional needs. Your caloric intake also depends on whether you would like to lose, maintain or gain weight.

  1. Age

    • Age determines how many calories you need. Children and elderly people do not need as many calories as people between ages 19 and 55.

    Stature

    • If you have a small build or are short, you do not need as many calories as someone who is tall or has a large build.

    Activity Level and Lifestyle

    • The more you exercise, the greater your caloric intake. Exercise levels range from sedentary to moderately active to active. The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines sedentary as performing less than 30 minutes of moderate physical activity a day, moderately active as performing 30 to 60 minutes and active as performing 60 or more.

      A sedentary 30-year-old woman of average height needs 1,800 calories daily, the moderately active woman needs 2,000 daily, and if she is active, she needs 2,400 daily. Your job and day-to-day activities affect your normal caloric intake. If you have a desk job, you need fewer calories than someone who is on his feet all day. A construction worker or anyone else doing manual labor has a higher caloric intake.

    Gender

    • On average, men need more calories than women. A 35-year-old man who is moderately active needs 2,600 calories a day, whereas a 35-year-old moderately active woman needs 2,000 calories a day.

    Pregnant and Nursing Women

    • Increase your daily caloric intake by 300 calories if you are pregnant. A 25-year-old moderately active woman's daily caloric intake should increase from 2,200 calories to 2,500 when pregnant. Consume 500 extra calories each day if you are nursing. That same 25-year-old's caloric intake should increase to 2,700 daily.

    Dieting

    • If you are dieting, safely decrease your intake by 500 calories per day. A moderately active 40-year-old woman normally needs 2,000 calories daily, but to lose weight, she should consume 1,500 calories a day.

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