Nutrition Calculator

Body Mass Index (BMI) is calculated using your height and weight. It correlates well to direct measurements (e.g. underwater weighing) of body fat, and is used to screen for weight categories that may lead to health problems. If you have a high BMI, speak with your family doctor.

A few things to know about BMI: at the same BMI women tend to have more body fat than men and older adults tend to have more body fat than younger adults. Highly trained athletes may have a high BMI because of heavy muscle rather than increased body fat. For adults 20 and older, the chart is fairly simple to read.

Below 18.5 Underweight
18.5 – 24.9 Normal
25.0 – 29.9 Overweight
30.0 and Above Obese

BMI is calculated the same way for children, teens and adults. However, the meaning of the numbers is slightly different.  When interpreting BMI for children and teens, sex and age specific information is needed. The BMI number is then plotted on the CDC BMI-for-age growth charts to obtain a percentile ranking. As such, it is not as easy to tell where your child fits on the BMI spectrum. If you are concerned, speak with your child's pediatrician about your concerns. When it is plotted on the chart, it will fall into one of several categories.

Underweight: Less than the 5th percentile
Healthy weight: 5th percentile to less than the 85th percentile
Overweight: 85th to less than the 95th percentile
Obese: Equal to or greater than the 95th percentile

The calories your body needs is based on your age, gender and activity level. The more active you are, the more calories you need. Females older than 9 need fewer calories than their male counterparts. If you are interested in losing weight, try reducing 1-2 pounds per week. This translates to 3,500-7,000 calories that you'll need to cut from your diet using a combination of diet and exercise. Eat a large number of fruits and veggies, and work in a half hour of cardiovascular exercise daily to reduce your weight. Read More: How many calories do you need?

In general, it's recommended that 10–35% of your daily calories come from protein. The above number is based on Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) for different combinations of age and gender.

There is a lot of concern about getting enough protein, but the generally accepted wisdom is that most people are getting enough. For example, the average teenager needs between 52 and 65 grams per day. When you consider that a chicken breast has 27 grams, a burrito with beans, rice and veggies has 45 grams, and a slice of cheese pizza has 27 grams, you can see that it is easy to reach your daily requirement of protein.

Dietary fiber includes all parts of the plant that your body can't digest or absorb. Fiber isn't digested, so it passes through your body relatively intact. A high-fiber diet can help to lower your blood cholesterol levels, control blood sugar levels, aid in weight loss efforts, and normalize bowel movements.

Fiber is like a sponge: as it moves through your digestive tract, it absorbs some of the wastes the body needs to get rid of, like mercury, nicotine, excess cholesterol and fat.

It is easy to add fiber to your diet: add fruits and veggies, beans and rice and enjoy breakfasts of high-fiber grains and cereals.

For children, the amount of fiber needed daily is directly associated to age. Add 5 to your child's age to determine how many grams of fiber to consume each day. Women should strive for 21-25 grams daily, while men should strive for 30-38 grams.

We need calcium at all stages of our life to build strong bones. Up to 90% of our bone mass is acquired by age 18 (girls) and age 20 (boys). It is crucial for kids and teens to consume enough calcium as their bones are growing.

Dietary fat got a bad reputation in the 90s, when the dieting trends were about eating foods low in fat. Unfortunately, most products (and people) started replacing fat in their diet with increased levels of sugar. Several recent studies show that fat need not be treated as the enemy we were led to believe it was. The recommended fat intake per day is between 20% and 35% of your daily caloric intake.
Read more: Much Ado About Dietary Fat