Scientific Calculation of Calories and Weight: Do You Need to Lose Weight?
How many calories does the human body need per day?
As mentioned earlier, even during sleep, the body continues to function to sustain life. The minimum amount of energy required to sustain life is called the basal metabolic rate.
The amount of basal metabolic rate varies with age, gender, lifestyle, and physical condition. The standard for adults is 1200 calories per day. The basal metabolic rate reaches its maximum between the ages of 15 and 17, and then gradually decreases after the age of 17.
In addition to sleep, people also need to study, work, exercise, etc., which means they also need to consume calories in daily life. Therefore, the calories that each person needs every day should be: basal metabolic rate + daily life consumption + exercise consumption.
Office workers have low activity levels and require a standard of 30 calories per kilogram of body weight. Based on this standard, a person weighing 50 kilograms would need 1,500 calories per day.
The standard weight referred to here is calculated based on height, that is, the body weight that is roughly in line with the height of the body. For overweight people, more calories are needed, but they cannot be overweight indefinitely. The first issue is to find out exactly what their standard weight is and take measures to try their best to keep their weight within the standard range.
The image below shows the standard weight for 20-year-old women of different heights, for reference. It is excerpted from an article published by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.
**Daily calorie requirement (kcal) for women aged 20-29**
| Height/Activity Level | Mild | Moderate | Slightly Heavy | High Intensity |
| :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 140(cm) | 1,560 | 1,760 | 2,080 | 2,400 |
| 145 | 1,600 | 1,840 | 2,160 | 2,560 |
| 150 | 1,680 | 1,920 | 2,280 | 2,640 |
| 155 | 1,760 | 2,000 | 2,400 | 2,760 |
| 160 | 1,840 | 2,080 | 2,520 | 2,920 |
| 165 | 1,920 | 2,160 | 2,600 | 3,000 |
| 170 | 2,000 | 2,280 | 2,720 | 3,160 |
| 175 | 2,080 | 2,360 | 2,800 | 3,280 |
| 180 | 2,160 | 2,440 | 2,920 | 3,400 |
Medium activity level: Light: Office workers, housewives without children, students, etc. Moderate: Salespeople, housewives with children, people engaged in light physical labor, etc. Heavy: Nurses, nannies, physical education students, coaches, technical instructors, etc. High intensity: Farmers, fishermen, athletes, etc. Additionally, ten-year-old girls, who are in their growth period, should require more calories per day than shown in the table above, while twenty-year-old women should require 50 to 100 calories less than the values shown in the table.
According to this table, different heights require different amounts of calories.
Find your daily calorie needs from the graph based on your height and activity level. The graph shows that people of the same age and height but with different lifestyles (activity levels) require significantly different amounts of calories.
Keep these differences in mind, regulate your daily life, and limit your diet.
**★What kind of people have difficulty losing weight?**
(1) People who are easily bored**
There are people in this world who can't persevere in anything they do. But losing weight is a battle with yourself, and it's also about building self-confidence. So please be patient and work hard in everything you do.
(2) People who are picky about food
Picky eaters will inevitably suffer from nutritional imbalances, which is not only harmful to their health but also a contributing factor to obesity. To achieve healthy and successful weight loss, please be prepared to eat a balanced diet.
**(3) People who tire easily**
As a student, you face immense expectations in all aspects of your life, which may lead to fatigue due to stress or tension. Losing weight at this time could have adverse effects on your health, so you need ample rest to recover your strength.
(4) People who are physically unwell
You should not start losing weight if you feel unwell in any part of your body. You should start by taking care of your body first, because discomfort will harm your health.
**(5) People who are not fat**
Although people around him don't think he's fat, there are quite a few people who consider themselves fat and want to lose weight. Your ideal weight can be easily calculated, and if you are below your ideal weight, you absolutely should not lose weight.
If you belong to any of the above types, please treat your symptoms first and become a suitable person for weight loss before starting to lose weight.
**★Who needs to lose weight?**
In today's society, many women desire a slim figure, especially urban girls who equate thinness with beauty. Some girls who are already of average build blindly pursue weight loss, striving for a state where they are so light they seem to float, or even blown away by a draft, to achieve the "ideal" state. However, reaching this point results in very little subcutaneous fat, failing to fill in bone hollows, leading to prominent cheeks, a flat chest, and prominent collarbones and ribs. The unique curves of a woman disappear, rendering her utterly unattractive. Therefore, excessive thinness is undesirable. Furthermore, once they enter middle age, their appearance will age more quickly than obese women. This is because, after middle age, the elasticity of facial muscles and skin begins to decline. Thin women experience sagging facial skin, wrinkles, and an aged appearance. Obese women, on the other hand, have thicker subcutaneous fat in their faces, which acts as a cushion, keeping the skin firm and smooth, making them appear younger than their actual age.
A French doctor pointed out that "women with fuller hips are healthier than slender women." According to his research, women with pear-shaped hips are generally healthier.
However, if excessive obesity leads to mobility issues and even triggers various diseases, then weight loss is necessary. What kind of women are more prone to heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure than those with lower body obesity (hips, thighs)? A Swedish medical expert, after more than 20 years of research, found that the ratio of waist circumference to hip circumference to heart disease significantly increases the risk. Therefore, women with upper body obesity must lose weight promptly.
Some patients should lose weight, such as those with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases or diabetes, because obesity can worsen their condition and is not beneficial to treatment. In addition, patients who are preparing for surgery should also lose weight if they are very obese, as this can reduce the difficulty and risk of the surgery.
In addition, some women in certain professions need to lose weight due to work requirements, even if their weight is not more than 20% above the normal weight, or even if they are at a normal weight. Examples include actresses, fashion models, gymnasts, diplomats, public relations professionals, flight attendants, hostesses, police officers, traffic police, sales clerks, waitresses, and textile workers.
**★Who is prone to weight gain?**
People who are worried about gaining weight or have already gained weight want to know the reasons why. There are many reasons for weight gain. First, genetics and overeating are important factors. In addition, the physical exertion from exercise can also easily lead to weight gain. Research by renowned Japanese physician Nakamura Choji has shown that excessive sleepiness, irregular mealtimes, eating too quickly, a love of sweets, unbalanced diets, snacking, and alcohol consumption can all lead to weight gain.
Some medications, such as corticosteroids (such as hydrocortisone), antipsychotics, and some contraceptives, can cause obesity in some people.
Women's fat metabolism is easily affected by endocrine changes. Female endocrine activity is mainly controlled by the hypothalamus, pituitary gland, and ovarian system. Endocrine imbalances can lead to obesity. Women are prone to weight gain during pregnancy, postpartum (confinement), lactation, and menopause.
In addition to the reasons mentioned above, the following types of women are prone to weight gain.
(1**) Females with precocious puberty**
A study abroad followed 16,868 women aged 20-24. Those with precocious puberty were under 11 years old; those with intermediate puberty were between 12 and 13 years old; and those with delayed puberty were over 14 years old. The results showed that women with precocious puberty weighed an average of 5 kg more than those with delayed puberty. By age 30, the obesity rate was greater than 26% for women with precocious puberty, greater than 15% for those with intermediate puberty, and less than 15% for those with delayed puberty. This is attributed to differences in estrogen levels.
(2) **Women who have had multiple abortions and pregnancies**
In the mid-1980s, obstetricians and gynecologists at a hospital in Łódź, Poland, conducted a follow-up study and found that women who had one miscarriage gained an average of 5-7 kg; those who had two miscarriages gained an average of 8-9 kg; and those who had three miscarriages gained an average of 10-11 kg. The main reason was that the function and metabolism of sex hormones in the body changed significantly after conception, leading to accelerated fat synthesis.
(3) Mentally healthy women
They are open-minded and easygoing, giving the impression of being carefree. This is especially true during puberty (when metabolism is high), the age of forty (when endocrine function declines), and old age (when the fat-burning effect of sex hormones diminishes), when they are more prone to being "relaxed and overweight."
**(4) 6 Types of People Prone to Weight Gain**
From an age perspective, the obese population increases with age. How can young people plan ahead and anticipate potential future weight gain? Here are a few points for reference:
① Both parents are obese.
②Those who give birth to macrosomic infants or are themselves macrosomic infants (birth weight greater than 4000 grams).
③ Parents with low socioeconomic status or who do not pay attention to children's nutrition knowledge.
④ Parents with multiple diseases such as hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes.
⑤ Those who like to eat junk food (foods that are high in calories and low in nutrients).
⑥ Those who dislike exercise.
The danger of the above six points decreases in that order, but the more points a person has, the easier it is for them to gain weight.