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Importance of Calorie Balance Within Healthy Eating Patterns

Cynthia Clifton

Importance of Calorie Balance Within Healthy Eating Patterns

Managing your calorie intake is importance to achieving and maintaining a good calorie balance. One of the best way to do this is to set up an eating pattern with the appropriate calories and monitor body weight and adjust your calorie intake with physical activity.

Remember that all foods and beverages have calories in them and the total amount of calories varies on the micronutrients in the foods. Speaking averagely, carbohydrates and protein contains approximately 4 calories per gram, fats approximately 9 calories per gram, and alcohol approximately 7 calories per gram. Since each person is different, the total number of calories varies depending on their age, sex, height, weight and level of physical activity.

According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, the following tools/guidelines should be followed:

  • Children and adolescents – encouraged to balance calories to support normal growth and development without excessive weight gain. If they are obese or overweight, then they should change their eating habits and increase their physical activity behavior to help in reducing their weight gain and body mass index (BMI).
  • Women that are planning pregnancy, are encouraged to maintain and achieve a healthy weight, so that they will be in the healthy range when they become pregnant. Women that are pregnant are encouraged to gain weight only within the gestational weight following the guidelines.
  • Obese adults should start by changing their eating habits and add more physical activities to their daily duties. This will decrease weight gain and promote weight loss. Losing weight means a decrease in the number of calories that a person take in and put out.
  • Adults 65 years and older it takes a little more effort to maintain and lose weight and therefore, are encouraged to limit excessive weight gain by eating more healthy fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and dairy and eating in the required portion size.

Staying healthy is something that really takes will power and determination, but is very rewarding in the future of being healthy.

Reference: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2015-2020 Eight Edition

5/3/2017 2:30:51 PM
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