Calorie Posting
How Many Calories Do People Need Each Day?
Most adults need about 2,000 calories a day. The exact number depends on a person's sex, age, and physical activity level, as shown in the table.
Eating or drinking more calories than the body uses causes weight gain - which can lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart disease.
Most people underestimate the calories they consume, especially for less-healthy items. As a result, it is easy to take in too many calories without realizing it. For example, some large sodas have as many as 600 calories. Some main dishes may contain 1600 calories - about three quarters of the calories most adults should eat in a whole day. Just 100 extra calories a day leads to 10 pounds of extra weight in a year.
To learn more about smart food choices, enter your age, sex and activity level in the My Pyramid Plan at www.mypyramid.gov.
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Learn More About Healthy Weight
Download these documents to learn more about why achieving and maintaining a healthy weight is important to your health:
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Obesity Statistics
For more information, check out the NYC DOHMH's Interactive Health Data website, Epiquery: nyc.gov/health/epiquery
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