Energy expenditure

Energy expenditure is nothing more than the ratio between an individual's daily energy consumption and the energy needed daily by the body to function properly. It is influenced by three main factors:

• Basal metabolic rate

• Physical activity

• Thermogenic effect of food

These factors, in turn, will be subject to the physiological characteristics of individuals, such as body weight, age, height and sex.

How to calculate energy expenditure?

The various formulas for calculating daily calorie consumption (CDC), or energy expenditure (there are more than 200), mainly take into account the basal metabolic rate (BMR), which refers to basal energy expenditure (BEE), and is defined as the calculation of the minimum calories an individual needs to perform their functions each day, and the dominant physical activity, which is classified according to levels of intensity and for which a correction factor must be applied.

One of the most commonly used formulas in this regard is the Harris-Benedict formula, which will be explained below.

Practical example_ How many calories per day does a 48-year-old woman, who is 166 centimeters tall and weighs 67 kilograms, who, in addition, does not engage in regular physical activity and whose occupation falls into