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Calories Per Day for Teens

The teenage years are an important time to ensure that your child is getting the nutrition that he needs. Teenagers are finishing up their growth and development and proper nutrition is crucial. Making sure your teenager is getting the appropriate number of calories allows your teen to get all the nutrition she needs without gaining excess weight.

  1. Teenage Girls

    • According to Mamashealth.com, 1 percent of teenage girls develop anorexia and do not eat properly during their teen years. This can lead to many problems later in life. Therefore, it is extremely important for parents to make sure teen girls are getting the proper number of calories for their growth. Girls between the ages of 11 and 14 should be eating around around 1,845 calories each day. Girls ages 15 to 18 should eat around 2,110 calories each day.

    Teenage Boys

    • While eating disorders are not as common among teenage boys as it is with girls, teenage boys do not always eat properly either. In fact, boys typically have the opposite problem and end up eating too much of the wrong types of foods. Keeping a teenage boy's calorie count under control can be more difficult but just as important. Boys between the ages of 11 and 14 need to eat around 2,220 calories each day. Teenage boys from 15 to 18 years of age should be eating around 2,755 calories each day.

    Calories and Weight

    • Figuring out exactly how many calories your teen should be consuming requires you to use a formula based on his weight. Eating the proper amount of calories for your teen's weight will ensure that he grows properly but does not gain excess weight. First, you must figure out how many kilograms your teen weighs. Divide her weight in pounds by 2.2 to get the kilogram weight. For teenagers ages 12 to 14, eating 45 to 55 calories per kilogram is advised. For ages 15 to 18, teenagers should consume 40 to 45 calories per kilogram.

    Activity

    • Exercise and level of activity is an important variable to take into account when determining how many calories your teenager should be consuming. Teens who are more active have a higher metabolism and burn more calories than a teenager who is not as active. Therefore, a teen who is active in sports or other physical activities should be consuming more calories than one who is not involved in sports and is instead in an activity such as band or chess club.

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