Body, machine that consumes energy

1996/07/01 Lorenzo, Arantza | Uranga, Ane Miren Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Dietetika/Elikagaiak

From a question, reader, you will understand better what we want to express through these lines. Why do we offer food so often? Why feed continuously? If the human body wants to maintain its life, it has to fulfill a series of basic functions, and for this, as a flour mill needs water, our body needs energy from food. This is the answer to the question. On the other hand, to measure the energy value of food, the word so fashionable today is used: calorie.

It is also known that we consume a lot of energy when exercising. However, this activity is not the only one with energy requirements, much less. You will be surprised by the foam, but also in the lying or dormant hours, the human body consumes energy: the heartbeat, the breathing, the circulation of the blood... all these functions we perform also at rest and, therefore, offer us energy consumption.

And is energy consumption the same in all cases? There is the question of the million. If we want to calculate the energy that each of us needs, we will have to take into account factors such as body composition, age, sex, weight, height and regular physical exercise. As can be seen in the following table, energy consumption varies depending on these factors, determining energy needs by age, weight and sex.

As has already been commented, one of the factors that influence energy consumption is equal. Let's see it. In the first years of life, the growth process is very fast, so children have great energy needs. Growth is also very high between 20 years and, in general, the energy requirements between the eighteen and twenty years are very high. From that age, however, the needs will decrease, a fact that is accentuated from 50 years, since it decreases physical and biological activity.

The second main factor is height. And it is that, as the weight and height are greater, the surface is increasing, so we should burn more.

The last variable that is detailed in the table is sex, since the fact of being a woman or man conditions the consumption of calories. With exceptions, we can say that men consume more energy. The causes are very varied, but body composition is the main factor. In any case, this will be the subject to be discussed in the coming month.

Type of type	Age of age	Weight (kg)	Height (cm)	Energy needs (minimum and maximum: kcal)
Newborns born	0.0-0.50.5-1.0	Others	6071	kg x 115 (95-145) kg x 105 (80-135)
Children Children Children Children	1-34-67-10	132028	90112132	1,300 (900-1,800) 1,700 (1,300-2,300)2,400 (1,650-3,300)
Men's men	11-1415-1819-2223-5051-7576	4566707070707070	157176177178178178178178	2.700 (2.000-3.700)2.800 (2.100-3.900)2.900 (2.500-3.300)2.700 (2.300-3.100)2.400 (2.000-2.800)2.050 (1.650-2.450)
Women Women Women	11-1415-1819-2223-5051-7576	46555555555555555555555555555555555555	157163163163163163163163	2,200 (1,500-3,000)2,100 (1,700-3,000)2,100 (1,700-2,500)2,000 (1,600-2,400)1,800 (1,400-2,200)1,600 (1,200-2,000)
During pregnancy				+ 300+ 500+