Suggested Calorie intake in other countries

betoarango

Hi

I live in the Republic of Panama, and we would consider a 2550 calorie day for a male adult at 230 lbs a large Caloric Intake. This was the suggested calorie intake by MFP when I first logged on. In Panama we have a lower number of processed foods and that might be one of the reasons for this, as I assume that processed high calorie foods might make this "goal" easier to achieve. Is this a correct figure everywhere or is the US caloric intake exagerated (or perhaps underated?) I would think that 2500 calories in the middle ages, or in biblical times would be very hard to achieve, let alone by our hunter gatherer ancestors hunting wooly mamoths... Or maybe they made up all the calories drinking Mead and Ale?

Comments anyone?

Marll

I personally think the caloric intake suggested by the government in the US is a crock of you-know-what. I believe it to be artifically inflated to allow people to fit in more grains and other high carb, high calorie foods.

TheVimFuego

I think the suggested calorie intakes should be treated as a very rough starting point and no more.

We are all more complex than simple "less energy in/more energy out" = "automatic fat loss" machines. Nothing says that a specific lack of energy has to result in losing a specific amount of fat.

Your climate, for example, could have a relatively large effect on what your ideal intake is. As will all the incidental movements that you make every day, not just "working out". Some people naturally 'fidget' more, for example.

Your metabolism will also influence how much (and what) you can process.

Unfortunately one size does not fit all, even within a country/city/street/house, and this is true for calories as well as 'fat/carb/protein' balance.

I would see the lack of processing as generally helping to maintain health by providing nutrient-dense food and therefore assisting in regulating the appetite naturally (not being on a blood-sugar/carb rollercoaster).

For calories generally, I take it back to when we didn't know about them and weren't trying to balance them ... Were we healthier? Yup. Not as much obesity, not as much diabetes ... I think the human body can adapt to varying calorie loads (within reason) and still stay lean.

Sorry, I tend to rant on about calories

norcal_yogi

bump...i have def thought about this...

praxisproject

On a technical point, the calorie calculation also includes exercise if you added it in the Goals section.