Charts, Graphs, & Diagrams > Health Charts > Calorie Requirement
These are very easy to use - no data input required. Find your calorie needs in the chart based on your weight and activity level.
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The calculations of calorie requirements found on the Web are mostly based on the Harris Benedict formula. Harris Benedict was a researcher who published his results more than 85 years ago. The formula goes like this:
For women: ( 655.1 + (9.563 x kg) + (1.850 x cm) - (4.676 x age) ) x Activity_level
For men: ( 66.5 + (13.75 x kg) + (5.003 x cm) - (6.775 x age) ) x Activity_level
The Activity_level is based on the amount of exercise you get, and varies from 1.2 to 1.8 or perhaps as high as 2.0, depending on what source you look at.
From a statistical point of view, there are a lot of problems with this formula.
So, 'estimate' is an important word to remember here.
The charts were drawn for a 40 year old person of average height (5'9" for men, 5'4" for women).
Using the chart, you can determine the calorie requirement for your target weight, then cut back your calorie intake accordingly. For example, you can see in the women's chart that a moderately active woman weighing 160 pounds burns about 2200 calories per day. For a 140 pound woman the figure is about 2050 calories. So, cutting back about 150 calories per day (2200 minus 2050) will eventually bring about a 20 pound weight loss, from 160 to 140.
A pound of fat contains about 3500 calories. So, to lose a pound of fat in a week, you need to one of the following three things:
Here's a calorie burning chart from The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports
| A. Sedentary Activities | Energy Costs Cals/Hour* |
| Lying down or sleeping | 90 |
| Sitting quietly | 84 |
| Sitting and writing, card playing, etc. | 114 |
| B. Moderate Activities | (150-350) |
| Bicycling (5 mph) | 174 |
| Canoeing (2.5 mph) | 174 |
| Dancing (Ballroom) | 210 |
| Golf (2-some, carrying clubs) | 324 |
| Horseback riding (sitting to trot) | 246 |
| Light housework, cleaning, etc. | 246 |
| Swimming (crawl, 20 yards/min) | 288 |
| Tennis (recreational doubles) | 312 |
| Volleyball (recreational) | 264 |
| Walking (2 mph) | 198 |
| C. Vigorous Activities | More than 350 |
| Aerobic Dancing | 546 |
| Basketball (recreational) | 450 |
| Bicycling (13 mph) | 612 |
| Circuit weight training | 756 |
| Football (touch, vigorous) | 498 |
| Ice Skating (9 mph) | 384 |
| Racquetball | 588 |
| Roller Skating (9 mph) | 384 |
| Jogging (10 minute mile, 6 mph) | 654 |
| Scrubbing Floors | 440 |
| Swimming (crawl, 45 yards/min) | 522 |
| Tennis (recreational singles) | 450 |
| X-country Skiing ( 5 mph) | 690 |
*Hourly estimates based on values calculated for calories burned per minute for a 150 pound (68 kg) person.
*(Sources: "William D. McArdle, Frank I. Katch, Victor L. Katch, "Exercise Physiology: Energy, Nutrition and Human Performance" (2nd edition), Lea & Febiger, Philadelphia, 1986; Melvin H. Williams, "Nutrition for Fitness and Sport," William C. Brown Company Publishers, Dubuque, 1983.)
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