Caloric Intake And Body Weight

When your caloric intake and expenditure are equal, you'll remain at a stable weight, a figure that differs from adult to adult. Calculating your body mass index can tell you if you are overweight, underweight or just right. Food label information can help you add up your daily calorie consumption. The Food and Drug Administration, FDA, considers 2,000 calories the average needed among men; for women that may range from 1,600 to 3,000 calories. If your weight fluctuates, a decrease or increase in calories can place you in the healthy weight range.

Weight Assessment

Determine whether your diet is doing its job by assessing your weight. Weigh yourself to the pound and record your height in inches. Determine your body mass index, or BMI, by multiplying your weight by a factor of 703. Divide the total by your height, then divide that number by your height again. The National Institutes of Health reports that BMIs from 18.5 to 24.9 are healthy weights, with underweight and overweight respectively below and above those figures. If you are losing or gaining weight, ask your doctor to help you adjust your caloric intake, set a healthy weight goal and devise a supportive exercise plan.

Low-Caloric Foods

Your body's response to the calorie amounts in the foods that you eat depends on your age, gender and activity level, as well as your weight. You can use low-caloric foods to lose or maintain weight as well as to provide vitamins, protein, minerals and other essential nutrients. The American Heart Association recommends choosing low-fat foods in the protein and dairy food groups, whole-grain foods in the grain category and reasonable portions of vegetables and fruits. Suggested servings of these foods include 3 oz. of tuna, 1 cup of low-fat milk, 1 cup of wheat bran cereal, and ½ cup each of broccoli and strawberries, which all contain less than 100 calories.

High-Caloric Foods

Eating high-caloric foods or excessive portions of any foods can cause weight gain if you take in more calories than you can exercise away. The FDA considers food servings with 400 calories or more to be high in calories. These include some fast-food hamburgers, french fries and other fatty meats and fried foods. Consuming large amounts of sweetened sodas or whole-milk products, such as some varieties of cheese, milk, yogurt, ice cream and whipped cream, can send you rapidly beyond daily calorie limits and toward weight gain. Avoid these foods to lose or maintain weight. To gain weight, add higher-calorie foods, such as whole grains, cooked dry beans, avocados and other healthy foods with less saturated fat and sugar.

Significance

Controlling your weight by balancing caloric intake and exercise expenditure reduces your risk for potentially fatal diseases as well as conditions that lower your quality of life. According to the Office of the Surgeon General, overweight conditions make you more likely to contract type 2 diabetes, heart disease, colon cancer, arthritis and even depression.