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Teen
Calorie Intake
Understanding teen calorie intake can be very confusing as much of the
information and calculators available on the web are geared for
adults. The reason for this is that determining an adult’s
calorie intake need is straight forward as our growing is over.
 For teens, however, you are still growing and
your calorie intake needs and nutrient needs will vary based on age,
activity level, current weight and your growing needs.
Between the ages of 12 to 18, you will experience several growing
spurts during this time.
Some of these growth spurts are in areas you cannot see, like muscle
tissue, organs, etc. So even if you think you are done
growing, the fact is your body is still developing and growing
somewhere and therefore is important to understand your teen calorie
intake needs and overall nutritional needs. Your body needs
more
nutrients to help
the growing process. Nutrients are found in the foods you eat
and include calories, vitamins, protein, fats and minerals.
The best person to help you determine the proper teen calorie intake is
your doctor. Before starting any weight loss program, as a
teen you should talk with your parents and doctor to ensure you are
approaching your teen weight loss in a healthy way.
Below outlines a guideline of the teen calorie intake needs and other
nutrient needs based on age.
General Guideline
for Children and Teen Calorie Intake
These are the guidelines set by the Institute of Medicine.
| Gender |
Age
(years) |
Sedentary |
Moderately
Active |
Active |
| Child |
2
- 3 |
1,000 |
1,000
- 1,400 |
1,000
- 1,400 |
| Female |
4-8
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
1,200
1,600
1,800 |
1,400
- 1,600
1,600 - 2,000
2,000 |
1,400
- 1.800
1,800 - 2,200
2,400 |
| Male |
4
- 8
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
1,400
1,800
2,200 |
1,400
- 1,600
1,800 - 2,200
2,400 - 2,800 |
1,600
- 2,000
2,000 - 2,600
2,800 - 3,200 |
The above table shows approximate calorie intake based on the
Estimated
Energy Requirements (EER) from the Institute of Medicine. The
child and teen calorie intake needs are based on gender, age and
activity level.
The “reference size” is based on median height and weight for ages up
to 18 years old. This table shows approximate daily
calorie intake for different activity levels; sedentary, moderately and
active.
The Food Pyramid
For teens, it’s more important to understand daily
nutritional needs to ensure a healthy eating plan that is within your
teen calorie intake requirements. Although
knowing the teen calorie intake is critical, ensuring you are consuming
these calories with the right foods is more critical for you growing
needs.
Below is a general outline of the food groups and recommended amounts
for each group. The amounts below are based on persons who
get less than 30 minutes of moderate exercise a day (above the normal
day to day activities). If you are more active, you may be
able to have more of each food group and still stay within your daily
calorie intake needs.
Grains
Grains are foods made from wheat, rice, oats, cornmeal,
or any other cereal grain. Examples of grain foods are bread,
pasta,
breakfast cereals, etc.
At least half of your daily grain needs should
be “whole” grains and not processed grains. When checking the
labels of
food items, make sure it states “whole” and not processed.
Daily
Recommended Amounts for Grain
| Gender |
Age |
Daily
recommend
Amount |
Minimum Recommended
Amount |
| Children |
2
- 3
4 - 8 |
3 ounce equivalent
4 - 5 ounce equivalent |
1½
ounce equivalent
2 - 2½ ounce equivalent |
| Girls |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
5 ounce equivalent
6 ounce equivalent |
3 ounce equivalent
3 ounce equivalent |
| Boys |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
6 ounce equivalent
7 ounce equivalent |
3 ounce equivalent
3½ ounce equivalent |
Veggies
Any vegetable or 100% vegetable juice counts as a veggie.
They can be raw, cooked, diced, whole, mashed or any way you can think
of having your veggies.
There are 5 subgroups of vegetables; dark green veggies, starchy
veggies, orange vegetables, dry beans and peas and other.
Recommendation is to get more dark green and orange veggies into your
daily diet.
Examples of dark green vegetables are; spinach, dark leafy lettuce,
broccoli, romaine lettuce and collard greens. Examples of
orange veggies are; acorn squash, butternut squash, carrots, pumpkin
and sweet potatoes.
Veggies
are a great addition for any healthy eating plan and allow you to feel
full while still staying within your teen calorie intake limits.
Daily
Recommended amounts for Vegetables
| Gender |
Age |
Daily Recommended
Amount |
| Children |
2 - 3
4 - 8 |
1 cup
1½ cups |
| Girls |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
2 cups
2½ cups |
| Boys |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
2½ cups
3 cups |
Fruits
Any fruit or 100% fruit juice can be counted as a fruit. The
recommendation is to get a variety of different kinds of
fruit. The USDA also recommends limiting the amount of fruit
juices.
Fruits such as oranges and grapefruits, which are high in vitamin C,
and apples and pears, which are lower in calorie and high fiber fruits,
are also considered metabolism booster foods.
Daily
Recommended amount for Fruits
| Gender |
Age |
Daily Recommended
Amount |
| Children |
2 - 3
4 - 8 |
1 cup
1 - 1½ cups |
| Girls |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
1½ cups
1½ cups |
| Boys |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
1½ cups
2 cups |
Oils
Oils are fats that are liquid at room temperature. Common
oils are canola oil, olive oil, sunflower oil, corn oil, cottonseed oil
and safflower oil. There are many foods naturally high in
oils such as nuts, olives, some fish and avocados.
As you may have read under my weight loss myths, you should consume
some amount of fats and oils from the foods you eat as you cannot
produce certain fats. However, you should make the most out
of your food choices and get your fats from foods like fish, nuts and
vegetable oils.
Limit the intake of solid fats like butter, margarine, shortening or
lard. Check food labels to find foods low in saturated fats
and trans fats. See the below table for the daily
requirements for oils.
Keep
in mind that you will typically
get the recommended amount of oils from the foods you eat like fish,
nuts, salad dressings, etc. For your overall teen calorie
intake,
really watch the fat content. Fast food hamburgers and fries
are
extremely high in fat content.
Daily
Recommended amounts for Oils
| Gender |
Age |
Daily Recommended
Amount |
| Children |
2 - 3
4 - 8 |
3 teaspoons
4 teaspoons |
| Girls |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
5 teaspoons
5 teaspoons |
| Boys |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
5 teaspoons
6 teaspoons |
Milk
The milk food group includes, of course milk, but also foods made from
milk that retains their calcium content. The subgroups
include;
Fluid milks which include flavored milks, fat-free, low fat and whole
milk, and lactose reduced or lactose free milks.
Milk based desserts such as ice cream, puddings made from milk and
frozen yogurt.
Cheese such as hard cheeses like cheddar, mozzarella, Swiss and
parmesan. It also includes soft cheeses like ricotta and
cottage cheese and processed cheeses like American cheese.
Yogurts which include fat free, low fat, reduced fat and whole milk
yogurt.
You should try to consume the fat free or low fat products from this
food group.
Daily
Recommended amounts of Milk
| Gender |
Age |
Daily Recommended
Amount |
| Children |
2 - 3
4 - 8 |
2 cups
2 cups |
| Girls |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
3 cups
3 cups |
| Boys |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
3 cups
3 cups |
Meat and
Beans
The meat and beans food group includes all meat, poultry, fish, dry
beans or peas, eggs, nuts and seeds. Note that dry beans and
peas are also part of the veggies food group.
Look for lean meats and poultry when building your healthy meal
plan within your teen calorie intake requirements. When
preparing
the meats,
bake it, broil it or grill it, try to avoid fried foods. Vary
your choices with more fish, beans and nuts.
Below is a list of some common foods in this food group.
Meats – Lean meats (ground or lean cuts) such as beef, pork, ham, lamb
and veal. You can also have game meats such as bison, rabbit
and venison.
Poultry – Chicken, turkey, duck and goose
Eggs – Chicken or duck eggs
Dry beans and peas – Black beans, black-eyed peas, kidney beans,
lentils, lima beans, navy beans, pinto beans, soy beans, split peas,
tofu, and bean burgers such as garden or veggie burgers.
Nuts and Seeds – Almonds, cashews, hazelnuts, mixed nuts, walnuts,
peanuts, peanut butter, pecans, pistachios, pumpkin, sesame and
sunflower seeds.
Fish – Finfish such as catfish, cod, flounder, halibut, herring,
salmon, sea bass, snapper, trout and tuna. Shellfish such as
clams, crab, lobster, mussels, oysters, scallops and shrimp.
Canned fish such as anchovies, clams, tuna and sardines.
Recommended
Daily amounts of Meat and Beans
| Gender |
Age |
Daily Recommended
Amount |
| Children |
2 - 3
4 - 8 |
2 ounce equivalents
3 - 4 ounce equivalents |
| Girls |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
5 ounce equivalents
5 ounce equivalents
|
| Boys |
9 - 13
14 - 18 |
5 ounce equivalents
6 ounce equivalents
|
For complete details and more information about the food pyramid, visit
my pyramid.gov
|
Back to Teen
Weight Loss
Remember, it’s a good thing to know and understand your teen calorie
intake, but also be aware of your what nutrients you need. Be
sure the foods are from the proper food groups and cover the daily
recommended amounts.
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