How Do You Determine the Recommended Daily Caloric Requirement For a Teenager?

There is recommended daily caloric requirement of 1,600 to 2,400 calories for girls and 2,200 to 3,200 for boys.  This is helpful to know, but there is a big difference between if a girl consumes 1,600 calories a day or 2,400 calories a day.  There are many different factors that can affect how many calories a teen should consume.  Some factors include age, gender, height, and others.

One factor of how many calories that should be consumed by a teenager is growth.  During teen years is when many people grow the most.  It's important for teens to get enough calories to support their growth.  If a teen is still growing a lot they need more calories than a teen who isn't growing as much or has stopped growing.  If a teen stops growing they don't need as many calories as someone who is because they don't need extra calories for growth. 

Another factor is activity level.  If a teen is more active then they are burning more calories and need to consume more calories because they need to replace calories they burned.  If a teen is less active then they need less calories because they aren't burning as many and if they eat too many calories it causes an excess of unneeded calories.  This could cause many things, one of which is weight gain, and in most cases that isn't not a good thing.  This is why and athlete like a football player or a dancer needs more calories than someone who doesn't get a lot of activity.

            For everyone, caloric intake is different.  Just because something works for a friend it doesn't mean it works for you.  Daily caloric intake is something that you have to figure out for yourself.  Talking to your doctor about it is also a good way to find out how many calories you should be eating.  Everyone is unique and everyone has different needs and circumstances that can affect the recommended daily caloric intake but it's important that people know how many calories they need for their health and wellbeing.





Sources:  http://www.livestrong.com/article/306057-how-many-calories-do-teenagers-need-a-day/


http://www.ehow.com/how_6061999_calculate-daily-calorie-intake-teens.html