How Does Physical Activity Affect Someone's Calorie Needs?

The most effective way for you to increase how many calories you need is to start engaging in regular physical activity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends you participate in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity aerobic activity every week. The more physical activity you participate in, the more calories you burn and the more likely you are to maintain a healthy weight.

Where Do Your Calories Go?

• Your daily caloric needs depend upon three things – resting metabolism, physical activity and heat thermogenesis. Your resting metabolic rate consists of the calories required to maintain body functions, such as breathing and heart rate, and it accounts for the majority of your calories. Physical activity is the next biggest contributor to how much you can eat on a particular day, and it’s also the least consistent because it depends upon your workout for that day. The smallest contributor to your caloric needs is heat thermogenesis, which is the energy required for you to digest and absorb food.

Physical Activity and Calories

• When you engage in regular physical activity, you increase how many calories you need a day. The extra calories your body requires depends upon how often you work out, how hard you’re working out and how long you’re working out. When you raise any of those factors, you’ll also increase your caloric needs. For instance, a 154 pound male burns 370 calories by hiking for one hour, but he burns 590 calories by jogging for one hour because jogging is a more intense workout than hiking.
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Caloric Needs for Men

• Your caloric needs depend upon your age, gender and physical activity level. If you're an inactive male, you need 2,000 to 2,600 calories a day with fewer calories needed the older you get. Moderately active men, on average, need an additional 200 calories, which equates to 2,200 to 2,800 calories a day. For vigorous activity, the USDA Center for Nutrition, Policy and Promotion recommends 19 to 35-year-olds consume 3,000 calories, 36 to 55-year-olds consume 2,800 calories, and 56 to 75-year-olds consume 2,600 calories.

Caloric Needs for Females

• Women tend to need fewer calories than men. If you're a woman between 19 and 25 years old, you need 2,000 calories; 26 to 50-year-olds need 1,800 calories and women 51 and over need 1,600 calories. If you’re a moderately active, you’ll need an additional 200 calories for your age. If you’re vigorously active, you can consume an additional 400 calories from the sedentary group, except for women 26 to 30 years and 51 to 60 years, who should strive for an extra 600 calories a day.