The below mentioned article provides a short note on the Caloric Requirements for Human Body.
The food requirements of a man depend upon his basal metabolism, S.D.A., the work to be done and the climatic conditions. Extra calorie is also required for a starved man to build up his tissues, a pregnant woman for the foetus and a child for his growth.
A man of 70 kg weight and 180 cm height with a surface area of 1.8 square metre, aged 30 and a BMR of 40 will have a basal metabolism of 1,800 calories per day. The allowance for S.D.A. will be 200 calories. Extra calories are required to be added to this on the basis of the work done by the individual. Total daily energy requirements of different categories of work done by individuals are mentioned below.
Very heavy work (lumbermen) entails the expenditure of 8,000 calories.
In long bicycle races, 10,000 calories are required in 24 hours.
Calories expended per hour at various occupations are given below:
This below table is according to the recommendations of the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council. One’s food intake varies from day to day depending on his own habit. Sunday is made a high calorie day. Sunday’s consumption is 36% above the average for the six days.
Women have a basal metabolic rate 7%-10% lower than that of men, and they are smaller in size, so their average caloric requirements are less. In a well-to-do home, the adults are not engaged in manual labour and may require less food than adolescents.
The average supplement for muscular work is 600 calories. The nervous and endocrine “makeup” or habits of an individual may alter his requirements. No certain evidence is yet known that mental work exhibits any significant increase in metabolism.
