One of the basic necessities of man is food. We all
need food because it provides us with the energy our body needs to carry on the
processes of living-such as breathing, circulation of the blood, and the
maintenance of body temperature- and to perform any muscular activity like
sitting, working and carrying loads.
The amount needed by an individual depends on a number
of factors. One of this is body size, in generals a man’s body, is larger than
a woman’s body. Consequently, a man needs a greater supply of energy than a
woman does. Another factor that affects energy needs is a person’s activities.
A child, for example, may be smaller than adult. A child, however, is more
active, so he or she really needs more energy to carry out his or her many
activities. Finally, age also determines energy needs. As one grows older, his
or her energy requirements decrease. Thus, the energy requirements of a young
man of moderate activity in a temperature country are about 3,200 calories daily.
A woman, also fairly active, needs about 2,300. A growing child’s daily
requirement is 2,100. An old man, on the other hand, would require from
2,000-2,500 calories. Laborers doing heavy manual work may need 4,000 to 5,000
calories daily whereas bed-ridden patient on a light diet is given only 2,000
calories on the average.
It is important that we know our daily energy
requirements because if the foo we take provides us with more calories than our
body uses up, then what is left is converted to fat. In fact, a common cause of
obesity according to DOH as one grows older is the failure of an individual to
adjust the amount of food he eats in proportion to his decreased
activities.
But for me, being calories conscious is not enough the
right number of calories in a diet does not mean that diet is perfect. Energy
intake is only one measure of a good diet. The food must also contain the right
amount of the different kinds of nutrients, especially the protective nutrients
that keeps the disease away. If the calories intake is correct but the
protective nutrients is missing it’s useless and we call those ’empty
calories’. The diet is bad and the result is malnutrition.
-Mary Joy Labarda
