Calories Needed by Height

While height plays a role in determining calorie needs, it's only one piece in a nuanced equation. Caloric needs vary for each individual and center on two components: basal metabolic rate (how many calories you burn depending on your height, weight, sex and age); and a physical activity factor (how many calories you expend through exercise). Knowing how many calories you need aids in diet planning and lifelong weight loss and maintenance.

Identification

Identify how many calories you need per day by visiting a registered dietitian or using an online tool that accounts for your height, weight, age, sex and activity level. The USDA's interactive daily reference intake (DRI) calculator allows you to find the number of calories you need for your status and identify how much you need of specific nutrients.

History

Methods to determine calorie requirements were produced in response to public health demands about energy balance and health. Each equation, such as the Cunningham or the Harris-Benedict, may have a different algorithm, but all include an activity factor and a resting energy expenditure component that accounts for an individual's height. The Harris-Benedict equation was developed in the earlier part of the twentieth century and is one of the most popular. More recent estimated energy requirement, or EER, equations were established as a response to concerns over increased rates of overweight and obesity in North America.

Misconceptions

Many people believe that due to genetics and other factors that cannot be changed, such as full adult height, they have little control over their body's energy needs. However, the physical activity factor can play a big role in increasing your energy expenditure, which in turn, gives you a bigger calorie budget to lose weight. Additionally, sustained exercise, particularly strength-training, can change body composition and increase the calories your body burns at rest.

Approach

Meeting the calorie requirements for your specific height needs requires tracking and vigilance to ensure you stay within your limits while consuming adequate nutrients. To lose weight, you must take in fewer calories than you burn, but do so at a safe rate of about 500 calorie reduction per day. In general, women should consume no fewer than 1,200 daily calories and men should not eat less than 1,500 calories per day. Eat a variety of foods, with a focus on whole grains, fruits, vegetables and low-fat meat and dairy. The USDA's dietary guidelines provide general rules that apply to diets at all calorie levels.

Considerations

Accuracy is key in determining calorie consumption because each energy equation can miscalculate resting energy or physical activity burn. According to a study published in the journal "Nutrition Research," one of the most popular equations, Harris-Benedict, may not account for a person's weight history and ethnicity when determining resting energy needs. Consult a health professional when planning any weight management diet around your specific stats, such as height.