What are calories?
Calories measure the amount of energy stored in a food. All calories come from either carbohydrates, proteins, fats or alcohol.
How many calories do nutritionists recommend I eat every day?
Nutritionists give this list as a guideline to determine how many calories you should eat daily to maintain your current weight:
| 2,800 calories |
Teenage boys, many active men and some very active women |
| 2,200 calories |
Most children, teenage girls, active women and many sedentary men. Women who are pregnant or breast-feeding may need more calories |
| 1,600 calories |
For many sedentary women and some older adults |
To calculate your personal calorie requirements a little more accurately, you might want to try the University of Minnesota's K-Calculator.
What happens if I eat a very high-calorie diet?
The exact number of calories you need to eat daily to maintain (rather than lose or gain) your current weight depends in great part on how active you are -- very active people can consume many more calories without gaining weight. However, if you habitually consume more calories than your body can burn off, you will gain weight, and may become obese. Complications from obesity include high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer and degenerative arthritis.
