The form below calculates energy requirement, physical activity level, and body mass index.
The Institute of Medicine (IOM) has two methods for estimating energy (or caloric) needs:
- Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) - average energy intake that is predicted to maintain a healthy weight in someone who is not overweight.
- Total Energy Expenditure (TEE) - average amount of energy a person is expected to expend.
The EER does not apply to people with a Body Mass Index of ≥ 25 kg/m2. For such people, the TEE can be used to predict the amount of energy they will expend in a day.
Someone's physical activity level (PAL) is used to adjust the amount of energy they require. The PAL is activity in addition to activities of daily living for the average person. In their energy calculations, the Institue of Medicine (IOM) uses four levels:
- Low Active - Equivalent of walking 2.2 miles per day at a rate of 3 to 4 miles per hour.
- Active - Equivalent of walking 7 miles per day at a rate of 3 to 4 miles per hour.
- Very Active - Equivalent of walking about 17 miles per day.
Because it can be hard to extrapolate from walking to other activities, the form below gives you two choices:
- Choose from the 4 predetermined activity levels in the drop down menu.
- Use the form below the drop-down menu to calculate your activity level by typing in the amount of minutes per activity.
Very active is the highest activity level accounted for in the IOM's equations. And the exercises listed below are the only activities for which the IOM gives information; you can use those exercises to extrapolate to others that you perform.
The "Δ PAL/10 min" column is the amount added to your PAL for 10 minutes of the listed activity.