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Your personal nutritionist
By Mary Hartley, RD
Director of Nutrition

How many calories do women burn?
Asked by xoallixs0n on Jan 12, 2009 in Weight Loss



I am talking about a normal woman, who gets up, walks around, does household chores, goes shopping, etc., but does not intentionally exercise.


Answer

The "reference woman", a theoretical individual with perfectly normal characteristics, burns about 2,000 calories a day.  She is between age 20 and 24, is 5'4.5", and weighs 125 pounds.  She needs those calories to perform her basic physiologic functions and the activities of daily living too.  But, there is considerable variation in individual calorie needs due to age, height, weight, physical activity, and unintentional activity, such as fidgeting.  To find your own calorie requirements, use the Calorie Target calculator in the Tools section at Calorie Count.



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