The Department of Health is considering raising our recommended daily calorie intake. But will this only further fuel the obesity epidemic?
Yes
The UK calorie intake guideline is 1940 calories for women and 2550 for men, although these figures are often rounded to 2000 and 2500 respectively for ease. This is the Dietary Reference Value and was set by the government’s Committee on Medical Aspects of Food Energy and Nutrients in 1991.
Current guidelines were calculated using equations based on energy expenditure estimates for men and women of average weight. ‘At the time, there wasn’t much data available on physical activity levels,’ explains Ursula Arens of the British Dietetic Association. ‘But now a technique called the doubly labelled water method can measure 100 per cent accurately how many calories people burn as they go about their daily business.’
No
The prospect of raising the guidelines is sparking concern among many dieticians and nutritionists. After all, more than 50 per cent of the UK population is currently overweight or obese, according to Department of Health figures. So, surely sending the message that we can soon eat even more can’t be a good idea?
Nutritionist Claire Harper (www.thenutritionguide.co.uk) believes that it would be more helpful if guidelines were broken down according to ages, sizes and activity levels. She thinks the guidelines are too general and easy for people to misinterpret. ‘Metabolism – the rate at which we use calories – varies between individuals, regardless of differences in activity levels. There are many factors that influence this. Younger people have a faster metabolism than the elderly, men burn calories faster than women and the bigger you are, the more energy – and calories – you use to complete simple body functions like breathing.
By Madeleine Bailey
*To read the full debate, see the August issue of Healthy magazine, on sale 6th August – 23rd September in Holland & Barrett stores and selected newsagents nationwide. Don’t forget to vote in our online poll.
2 comments
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Hello, I think that instead of getting too bogged down with calorie counting we should focus more on eating healthy foods and understanding portion sizes. A really good and easy tip I have discovered about how to ensure you always create a healthy meal can be found on our website: http://bit.ly/oGliwo Helen@Activia
Comment by Helen@Activia on 16 August 2011 at 11:44 am
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Calories. Please will you look in to the Calorie Hypothesis. Thermodynamics do not work in this way. Calories in and calories out only work in an enclosed environment. The human body is not an enclosed environment.
Comment by Trish Cherry on 2 September 2011 at 8:52 pm
