How Many Calories Should a Woman Eat a Day?
The NHS gives 2,000 kcal a day as a guide for women. NASEM's 2023 tables for US women run from 1,737 kcal (over 70, inactive) to 2,683 kcal (ages 19 to 30, very active).
Key takeaways
- The NHS gives 2,000 kcal a day as a guide for women; 2,000 kcal is 8,368 kJ.
- NASEM's 2023 tables for US women aged 19 and over run from 2,014 kcal (inactive) to 2,543 kcal (very active); the Canadian figures are 1,959 to 2,487 kcal.
- Needs fall with age: an inactive US woman aged 51 to 70 needs 1,960 kcal, 192 kcal less than at 19 to 30, even though she weighs more.
- One level of activity is worth more than a decade of ageing: +166 kcal from inactive to low active against −70 kcal for 10 years.
- For weight loss, typical intakes for women are 1,200–1,500 kcal a day, and the deficit never takes you under 1,200 kcal.
How many calories should a woman eat a day? About 2,000 kcal on average, and individual needs run from roughly 1,700 to 2,700 kcal depending on age, height, weight and activity. The figures come from the NHS and from the 2023 National Academies tables for US women.
How many calories does the average woman need?
About 2,000 kcal a day. The NHS gives that as a guide for women, and a guide is all it is. The real number depends on age, weight, height and exercise (NHS). Readers in Australia will see the same amount as 8,368 kJ, since 1 kcal is 4.184 kJ. The version for men and women together is how many calories per day you need.
The National Academies publish a sharper version. They call the figures estimated energy requirements: the calories that hold weight steady at a given size, age and activity level. They took the median height and weight of adult women in national surveys and ran their equations for four activity levels. The US median: 161.2 cm (63.5 in), 73.2 kg (161 lb). The median Canadian woman is a little lighter at 68.1 kg (149.8 lb), and her inactive figure sits 55 kcal lower. That gap is mostly the 5.1 kg difference in weight.
| Activity level | US women, 19 and over (161.2 cm, 73.2 kg) | Canadian women, 19 and over (162.1 cm, 68.1 kg) |
|---|---|---|
| Inactive | 2,014 kcal | 1,959 kcal |
| Low active | 2,178 kcal | 2,122 kcal |
| Active | 2,317 kcal | 2,260 kcal |
| Very active | 2,543 kcal | 2,487 kcal |
Inactive women land right on the NHS guide. The activity row matters most: from inactive to very active, the median US woman gains 529 kcal a day.
How many calories should a woman eat by age?
Fewer as the decades pass. Needs drop with age even when body weight goes up. The next table is the National Academies’ version for US women, built from the median height and weight of each age group. Those are typical women, not goal weights.
| Age group, NASEM Table 7-10 | Median height and weight | Inactive | Low active | Active | Very active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19–30 | 162.7 cm, 69.3 kg | 2,152 kcal | 2,316 kcal | 2,454 kcal | 2,683 kcal |
| 31–50 | 162.5 cm, 75.0 kg | 2,112 kcal | 2,278 kcal | 2,418 kcal | 2,647 kcal |
| 51–70 | 160.8 cm, 74.8 kg | 1,960 kcal | 2,125 kcal | 2,264 kcal | 2,489 kcal |
| Over 70 | 156.8 cm, 69.7 kg | 1,737 kcal | 1,896 kcal | 2,035 kcal | 2,249 kcal |
Compare the first and third rows. The women aged 51 to 70 weigh 5.5 kg more than the women aged 19 to 30, yet an inactive one needs 192 kcal less. Age pulls the number down harder than the extra weight pushes it up. How many calories should I eat a day by age lays out the same slope for men as well.
Pick the activity column by what your week really looks like. Low active, in NASEM’s description, means daily living plus 60 to 80 minutes of walking. Very active means more than two hours of vigorous activity on top of daily living. Training four times a week doesn’t get you there.
What changes a woman’s calorie needs the most?
Activity moves the number most, with body weight close behind. I changed one thing at a time in the adult-woman equation from NASEM’s report. The base case is 35 years old, 165 cm, 70 kg and low active: 2,269 kcal.
| Change | Effect on daily calories |
|---|---|
| 10 kg heavier | +121 kcal |
| 10 cm taller | +66 kcal |
| 10 years older | −70 kcal |
| Inactive to low active | +166 kcal |
| Low active to active | +139 kcal |
| Active to very active | +234 kcal |
Weight, height and age use the low-active coefficients. Each step up in activity adds more calories than ten years of ageing takes away.
How many calories should a woman eat to lose weight?
Take your estimated needs and subtract a modest deficit, without going under 1,200 kcal. The AHA/ACC/TOS guideline lists 1,200–1,500 kcal a day as typical for women, or a deficit of 500 or 750 kcal from needs. The NHS suggests losing 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lb) a week. NASEM’s equations describe maintenance only. The deficit is your own addition. How many calories should I eat to lose weight walks through the subtraction.
A woman with a TDEE of 2,000 kcal lands on 1,500 kcal with the smaller deficit. An older woman who is inactive, at 1,737 kcal, has only 537 kcal of room above the floor. A 750 kcal deficit is out for her.
The deficits in this section assume a BMI above the usual range of 18.5 to 24.9. Inside that range, a deficit isn’t for you. If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, these tables don’t apply. A midwife or doctor sets your target, and NASEM gives pregnancy its own equation.
How do I find my own number?
Start with the equation, then watch the scale. The calorie calculator takes your age, height, weight and activity and applies those same NASEM 2023 equations. A target under the 1,200 or 1,500 calorie floors is off the table.
Eat that number for two weeks and weigh yourself most mornings, then compare the averages. If your average weight holds, you’ve found your level. If it creeps up or down, nudge your intake the other way and repeat. Once the daily number holds, how many calories should breakfast be shows what share of it the first meal takes.
If counting calories has started to feel hard to stop, or eating feels out of control, talk to someone: ANAD in the US (1-888-375-7767), Beat in England (0808 801 0677), NEDIC in Canada (1-866-633-4220) or the Butterfly Foundation in Australia (1800 33 4673). If you’re in danger right now, call your local emergency number. Other UK numbers and crisis lines are on our crisis support page.
Your own level may sit well off any row here, so let two weeks of weigh-ins have the last word.
Questions and answers
How many calories should a woman eat a day to lose weight?
Subtract 500 kcal a day from your estimated needs, as long as the answer stays at or above 1,200 kcal. The AHA/ACC/TOS guideline lists 1,200–1,500 kcal a day as typical for women, and the NHS suggests losing 0.5 to 1 kg (1 to 2 lb) a week. A woman needing 2,000 kcal would eat 1,500 kcal.
How many calories should a 30-year-old woman eat?
For the median US woman aged 19 to 30 (162.7 cm, 69.3 kg), NASEM puts needs at 2,152 kcal if inactive, 2,316 kcal if low active and 2,454 kcal if active. Your height, weight and activity move that number up or down, so use it as a range.
How many calories should a woman over 50 eat?
The median US woman aged 51 to 70 needs 1,960 kcal if inactive and 2,264 kcal if active, and after 70 the range is 1,737 to 2,035 kcal. The drop with age comes from the equation, which takes off about 70 kcal for every 10 years of age with everything else equal.
Is 1,200 calories a day enough for a woman?
It's the lowest daily intake the AHA/ACC/TOS guideline lists for women in a weight-loss plan, and well under maintenance needs. The median inactive US woman needs 2,014 kcal. The guideline reserves intakes under 800 kcal for supervised medical settings.
Sources
- Understanding calories (NHS, page last reviewed 17 April 2023), NHS
- Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy (2023), Chapter 7: Applications of the Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Food energy: methods of analysis and conversion factors (FAO Food and Nutrition Paper 77), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
- Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy (2023), Chapter 5: Development of Prediction Equations for Estimated Energy Requirements, National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
- Jensen MD, et al. 2013 AHA/ACC/TOS Guideline for the Management of Overweight and Obesity in Adults. Circulation 2014, American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, The Obesity Society
- Tips to help you lose weight (NHS, page last reviewed 17 March 2023), NHS
- Calculate Your Body Mass Index, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
