TDEE for Indians?

sola24
sola24 Posts: 334 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I know the healthy BMI upper range is 23 for Indians as opposed to 25 which is the global standard. Is there something like that for TDEE as well? My TDEE is around 1400-1600 but 1400 cals makes me quite full and heavy.. 1200 cals seems enough for me. I am 5ft tall and I weight 55.7kg now (122-123lbs)

Replies

  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    :noway: this confused me too :laugh:
    Not sure why that would be....

    eta:....scratches head, wonder if it's too early for gifs...
  • sola24
    sola24 Posts: 334 Member
    Indians have a high diabetes rate and also the tendency to put on fat around the middle.. hence the adjustment is specially made for indians.. according to world standard I am in healthy weight range.. but as an Indian I am not. And I have a lot of midsection fat which just refuses to go away.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    eta:....scratches head, wonder if it's too early for gifs...

    its NEVER too early for gifs!!!!!!
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    Indians have a high diabetes rate and also the tendency to put on fat around the middle.. hence the adjustment is specially made for indians.. according to world standard I am in healthy weight range.. but as an Indian I am not. And I have a lot of midsection fat which just refuses to go away.

    OK...even MORE confusion here..
    <<<<<Indian WITH T2D and I've been losing using the very same calculations that my non-Indian counterparts are as long as all things are remaining equal (meaning my blood glucose doesn't measure higher than 110ish mg/dl more often than not).
  • sola24
    sola24 Posts: 334 Member
    I was confused coz different formulas will calculate it differently.. Just wanted to know if there is anything specific like the BMI thing.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I was confused coz different formulas will calculate it differently.. Just wanted to know if there is anything specific like the BMI thing.

    Noooooo....

    scooby is generally recommended for TDEE calculations.
  • V0lver
    V0lver Posts: 915 Member
    Indians have a high diabetes rate and also the tendency to put on fat around the middle.. hence the adjustment is specially made for indians.. according to world standard I am in healthy weight range.. but as an Indian I am not. And I have a lot of midsection fat which just refuses to go away.

    OK...even MORE confusion here..
    <<<<<Indian WITH T2D and I've been losing using the very same calculations that my non-Indian counterparts are as long as all things are remaining equal (meaning my blood glucose doesn't measure higher than 110ish mg/dl more often than not).

    ^ this. i am an Indian and couldn't agree more.
  • HealthyVitamins
    HealthyVitamins Posts: 432 Member
    To answer your question, no there isn't a special TDEE for Indians.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
    Indians have a high diabetes rate and also the tendency to put on fat around the middle.. hence the adjustment is specially made for indians.. according to world standard I am in healthy weight range.. but as an Indian I am not. And I have a lot of midsection fat which just refuses to go away.

    but why would your TDEE be any different just because you are indian?

    yes...your TDEE would be different depending upon your activity level, not your ethnicity :ohwell:
    If there's diabetes in your family, and you carry weight around your tummy mostly, I recommend going to bloodsugar101.com and clicking on the tab 'the pattern in which diabetes develops'. Then click on the tab 'you did not eat your way to diabetes'.

    The second tab will explain how the genetic component affects and you can better access your risk, then decide whether it's necessary to cut starchy foods, which incidentally is the best way to tackle high blood sugar regulation issues using diet.
  • Colbyandsage
    Colbyandsage Posts: 751 Member
    BMI and TDEE are 2 completely different things. TDEE is the amount of calories you burn in a day, BMI is simply a measurement of weight/ height. There are a lot of variables that will increase/ decrease your TDEE such as muscle and activity level but I doubt ethicality has anything to do with it.

    As for you calorie level, 1400-1500 is on the low side. Are you exercising? I run a lot so I would be starving at 1400 calories! I am 5'3. If you are maybe you need to take in more calorie dense foods. I have not looked at diary.
  • igotabulletproofheart
    igotabulletproofheart Posts: 104 Member
    TDEE has nothing to do with the BMI and doesn't work like it.

    Your TDEE is essentially the amount of energy (calories) you use in a day. If you want to lose weight, eat less than this number. Simples.
  • emergencytennis
    emergencytennis Posts: 864 Member
    BMI and TDEE are 2 completely different things. TDEE is the amount of calories you burn in a day, BMI is simply a measurement of weight/ height. There are a lot of variables that will increase/ decrease your TDEE such as muscle and activity level but I doubt ethicality has anything to do with it.

    As for you calorie level, 1400-1500 is on the low side. Are you exercising? I run a lot so I would be starving at 1400 calories! I am 5'3. If you are maybe you need to take in more calorie dense foods. I have not looked at diary.

    Ethicality has everything to do with TDEE, sloth and gluttony for starters!
  • reach4thestar
    reach4thestar Posts: 174 Member
    As others have stated there is no different calculations to calculate tdee based on ethnicity. ...I am an indian and following the tdee calculations as others....so relax......if you feel full at 1200 just make sure you are properly weighing your food...with indian foods, portion control could be tricky unless its weighed and taken into consideration all the ingredients that go into it....so when you think 1200 it might not actually be 1200 but more than that. .....:flowerforyou:
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member

    ...your TDEE would be different depending upon your activity level, not your ethnicity...

    Agreed.

    Also agree that risk factors for certain diseases vary by ethnicity so BMI recommendations may vary as well. But since TDEE is a totally different concept based on energy expenditure, it should be the same standards for everyone. Select yours according to your activity level. :flowerforyou:
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,432 MFP Moderator
    I know the healthy BMI upper range is 23 for Indians as opposed to 25 which is the global standard. Is there something like that for TDEE as well? My TDEE is around 1400-1600 but 1400 cals makes me quite full and heavy.. 1200 cals seems enough for me. I am 5ft tall and I weight 55.7kg now (122-123lbs)

    How are you calculating your TDEE? Because even if your sedentary and do NOT work out, then your TDEE would probably be closer to 1650 calories. If you walk a lot or exercise it would be higher. TDEE is individualize to each person and it not based on ethnicity. Now your BMR could be lower than the average person if you have less lean body mass and more body fat than the average person that is 5'2.


    But the bigger question is, do you exercise? Do you want to open your diary?
  • rprr
    rprr Posts: 28 Member
    Apologies for resurrecting this thread. In a paper from last year (2016), the studies seem to show that Asian Indians have a lower REE when compared with others due to differences in sizes of high metabolic rate organs.

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26568151
  • PaulaWallaDingDong
    PaulaWallaDingDong Posts: 4,647 Member
    emergencytennis wrote: »
    BMI and TDEE are 2 completely different things. TDEE is the amount of calories you burn in a day, BMI is simply a measurement of weight/ height. There are a lot of variables that will increase/ decrease your TDEE such as muscle and activity level but I doubt ethicality has anything to do with it.

    As for you calorie level, 1400-1500 is on the low side. Are you exercising? I run a lot so I would be starving at 1400 calories! I am 5'3. If you are maybe you need to take in more calorie dense foods. I have not looked at diary.

    Ethicality has everything to do with TDEE, sloth and gluttony for starters!

    *snort* I know this is old but this made me lol.
  • Muana1005
    Muana1005 Posts: 172 Member
    I roti made at home without butter is usually 200-400 calories. Your typical single Indian meal with 2 rotis, sabzi, rice and dal is often 1000-1300 cals and that's without pickles or butter or yoghurt. That's a single meal!

    Strongly suggest that if you are eating Indian food you cook from from scratch and weigh the ingrediants. No way are you just eating 1400 cals if you're eating Indian meals.
  • Muana1005
    Muana1005 Posts: 172 Member
    Also the lower BMI level applies for all Asians, not just Indians. It's because Asian people carry more fat in proportion to muscle. It's why we age so much slower. But if you don't carry your weight around your middle and don't have an increased diabetes risk, and are weight training, then take it with a pinch of salt.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    edited June 2017
    BMI is basically a general indicator of fatness. Because "appropriate weight" is a sliding scale and not one specific number calculation, where to aim on that spectrum can be affected by several factors like ethnicity, general build, fat percentage...etc.

    TDEE is how much your body burns on an average day. It depends on your weight, gender, height, age, and activity level (plus individual genetic and hormonal variations but that can't be predicted by the formula so usually tweaked on individual basis). These factors know no race or ancestry. A person who is 30 years old is 30 years old regardless of their country. It's a one specific number calculation that takes specific figures. The different numbers you are getting from different calculators is because TDEE is an estimate and there are more than one formula to estimate it, that's about it. So it's safe to use the general TDEE formula as an estimate for your TDEE regardless of where you're from.
  • kristikitter
    kristikitter Posts: 602 Member
    edited June 2017
    hookilau wrote: »
    :noway: this confused me too :laugh:
    Not sure why that would be....

    eta:....scratches head, wonder if it's too early for gifs...
    ]

    gifs you say...

    smirk.gif
  • rprr
    rprr Posts: 28 Member
    I think that some caution is warranted when using the usual TDEE calculators for South Asian Indians (SAIs) directly. As Muana1005 mentioned above, for a given BMI, it appears that SAIs tend to have a higher body fat %age when compared to Caucasians. Therefore, in order to calculate TDEEs for SAIs, you will need to base it off from your lean body mass directly. This discrepancy can be as much as 1-200 cals/day. Also, the same study showed that at least among SAIs living in Singapore, the daily intake was about 2500 cals. I also agree with Muana1005 that we tend to underestimate our calorie intake. The incidence of early onset cardio vascular disease is very high among SAIs when compared to other groups.
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