Eating nutritiously can help you live a longer, healthier life, reducing your risk of conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes. Knowing how much and which types of food to eat is only half the battle though, as your nutrition requirements change with age. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, or USDA, offers daily calorie guidelines to help you eat well throughout the different life stages.
Your daily caloric needs depend upon a variety of factors, including your age, activity level, gender and size. If you want to maintain your weight, you should consume the same amount of calories you burn each day. In order to lose weight, you need to eat fewer calories than you burn each day. It takes about 3,500 calories to equal 1 lb of body weight, so if you burn 500 more calories than you consume for one week, you will lose 1 lb. In general, the more active you are, the more you weigh or the younger you are, the more calories you burn each day.
Early Life Stages
Children and toddlers do not need to eat as much as adults because they are smaller. According to the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010, 2- and 3-year-olds need to consume between 1,000 and 1,400 calories per day, with active toddlers on the high end of the spectrum. Sedentary 4- to 8-year-olds need 1,200 to 1,400 calories daily. Active boys ages 4 to 8 need from 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day, whereas active girls of the same age require 1,400 to 1,800 daily.
Children and Adolescents
Children require more calories as they grow, with adolescents needing the most calories due to rapid growth spurts and high metabolisms. In general, males have higher metabolisms and weigh more than females so need to eat more calories per day. Girls ages 9 to 13 need from 1,400 to 2,200 calories, with sedentary girls on the low end of the spectrum. Boys ages 9 to 13 require between 1,600 and 2,600 calories daily, with active boys requiring the most calories. Sedentary teen girls ages 14 to 18 need 1,800 calories daily, and active girls the same age need 2,400. Active teen boys need 2,800 to 3,200 calories per day, and sedentary teen boys need about 2,000 to 2,400 calories.
Adults
Adults' caloric needs also vary with age and activity level. Life stages such as pregnancy and middle age also change your caloric requirements, with pregnant women needing more calories and seniors requiring fewer calories than young adults. Women ages 19 to 30 need between 1,800 and 2,400 calories per day, with active females on the high end of the caloric spectrum. Men of the same age require 2,400 to 3,000 calories per day, with active men also on the high end of the spectrum. Women ages 31 to 50 need between 1,800 and 2,200 calories per day, and men the same age need from 2,200 to 3,000 calories. Adults ages 51 and older require fewer calories because your metabolism slows with age, with older women needing between 1,600 and 2,200 calories and older men needing between 2,000 and 2,800 calories.
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