How do you Determine the Recommended Daily Caloric Requirement for a Teenager?

          Your caloric intake depends on these things: body composition, age, gender, and exercise. Body composition is important in determining your dietary needs. Someone who is smaller and leaner would not have to take in as many calories as someone who is larger in stature (If they had similar exercise habits.) Age also comes to play in the daily caloric intake. This is important because people will grow more around puberty and earlier in their life, so they'll need to take in more calories to grow. That is why teens and people in their young-adult stage have a higher caloric intake. Gender is important in determining the daily intake because males often require a higher amount of calories than females. One of the most essential parts in determining caloric intake is exercise. Knowing how active someone is can vastly change the recommended intake, even if the rest of the components are similar. Someone who is more active will have a higher amount of calories per day because they will be using more energy and burning off calories.

          Below are the recommended daily caloric intakes for teens aged 14-18:

Females:

Inactive: 1,800 cal.
Average: 2,000 cal.
Active: 2,400 cal.


Males:

Inactive: 2,200 cal.
Average: 2,400-2,800 cal.
Active: 2,800-3,200 cal.

Varying food intake between different people