Teenage food intake

[andynes]

Okay I am a 16 year old male and was wondering how many calories should I be taking in each day and how much protein etc. If you can tell me that would be much appreciated and could you also please give me the source of your information.

Thanks

[Hidden]

It's not really quite as simple as that as it depends on things like your height and your level of activity. If you're a sporting and active sort of 16 year old, you'll be in need of more calories than if you're a bit of a 'couch potato'.

The NHS's 'live well lose weight' page's BMI calculator works for younger people as well as adults. So I'd suggest you start there with finding out if you are over or under weight and if so by how much.

If you need to lose weight use a search engine and look for 'calorie intake for teenagers'.

My understanding - from doing exactly that - is that you should probably be taking in something like 3000 kcal a day and if you want to lose weight, probably be reducing that by about 500 kcal a day. But that is a generalisation about all male 16 year olds and you might be much more (or less) active than the 'average'.

But - just as for adults - if you have any medical issues (including being significantly overweight) go and talk with your GP or practice nurse and get specific advice as to how weight loss is best undertaken in your case. They very probably can also point you in the direction of other sources of help and good professional advice and, perhaps, refer you to other professionals such as a dietician, if appropriate to do so.

Notwithstanding all of that, the fact of the matter is that a lot of weight loss is about having better attitudes to eating and taking in good nutrition while reducing your fat and calorie intake. That is, it is a lot about 'healthy eating'.

And there's plenty of information about that available from many sources, including the NHS live well pages.

Good luck.