The FDA requires all foods to carry a nutrition label that reveals information about the ingredients present. One piece of information on all food labels is the number of calories in the product and their corresponding daily percentage value. Daily percentages are based on average diets of either 2,000 or 2,500 calories per day and are meant to offer a baseline for consumers to determine how much of their healthy daily diet is met by a particular serving of food. However, because these daily percentage numbers are based on average diets, they are often not accurate enough. By calculating your daily caloric needs with basal metabolic rate and the Harris Benedict Equation, you can determine the percentage of your total daily calories that a food offers.
Step 1
Calculate your basal metabolic rate, or BMR, using one of the following equations based on sex and information about your age, weight and height. Solve using a calculator. For women, BMR = 655 + ( 4.35 x weight in pounds ) + ( 4.7 x height in inches ) - ( 4.7 x age in years ). For men, BMR = 66 + ( 6.23 x weight in pounds ) + ( 12.7 x height in inches ) - ( 6.8 x age in years ).
Step 2
Multiply your BMR by one of the values offered by the Harris Benedict Equation. Because BMR does not account for exercise or activities, it only calculates 60 to 75 percent of your total daily caloric needs, according to the Mayo Clinic. Multiplying by an activity level value gives you a more accurate reading of your total daily caloric needs. If you get little to no exercise, multiply BMR by 1.2; if you get light exercise one to three days a week, multiply by 1.375. If you do medium exercise three to five days a week, multiply by 1.55. If you do heavier exercise six to seven days per week, multiply by 1.725. If you do exercise seven days per week with a physically demanding job, multiply by 1.9.
Step 3
Divide the number of calories your food contains, listed on the nutrition label, by your total daily caloric needs determined by your answer in Step 2. The result is the percentage of your total daily caloric needs that is met by consuming that food. For example, if your daily caloric requirement is 1,500 calories and you consume 150 calories of food, you have met 10 percent of your daily caloric needs.
Tips and Warnings
- Pay attention to serving size when determining how many calories of a certain food you have consumed.
Things You'll Need
- Calculator
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