Health · Calories

Calorie Calculator

Estimate daily calorie needs based on activity level.

Calorie Calculator

Choose your sex, unit system, and activity level, enter your age, height, and weight, then select Calculate.

Sex

Age (years)

Units

Activity level

Height (cm)

Weight (kg)

How this is calculated

This first estimates basal metabolic rate (BMR) with the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, then multiplies it by an activity factor: Daily calories = BMR × activity factor Activity factors range from 1.2 (sedentary) to 1.9 (extra active) — the more you move, the higher the multiplier.

Examples

A 25-year-old man, 175 cm, 70 kg, with a sedentary lifestyle needs about 2,009 calories per day to maintain his weight. The same person with a moderate activity level needs about 2,452.

About this calculation

This estimates calories needed to maintain your current weight — eating more leads to weight gain, eating less to weight loss, roughly in proportion to the difference. Individual metabolism varies, so treat this as a starting point, not an exact number.

Related tools

More calculators are on the way — browse everything planned on the Home page.

Frequently asked questions

What activity level should I choose if I'm not sure?

"Light" or "Moderate" is a reasonable starting point for most people with an average routine — you can always recalculate as your activity changes.

Why does the calculator say my input is invalid?

Age, height, and weight must all be positive numbers — check that you've filled in every visible field for your chosen unit system.