Daily calorie and BMI calculator for Indian adults
Enter your age, height, weight and activity to estimate how many calories you need in a day, your BMI and a protein range.
Fill in the form and press Calculate. Your numbers appear here.
How to use the result
The maintenance number is the energy that keeps your weight steady at your present activity. Eating a little below it leads to slow weight loss, and eating a little above it leads to slow gain. A gap of 300 to 500 kcal a day is enough for steady change. Bigger cuts are hard to keep up and can leave you short of protein, vitamins and minerals.
To see how your meals compare, analyse a photo of your plate or check the Indian food calorie chart. The guide to building a balanced thali shows what a 500 kcal meal looks like.
Questions
How is the daily calorie number calculated?
The calculator uses the Mifflin-St Jeor equation to estimate the energy your body uses at rest from your age, sex, height and weight, and multiplies it by an activity factor. The result is an estimate for maintaining your current weight.
Which BMI ranges are used?
It uses the cut-offs commonly applied to Asian Indian adults: below 18.5 underweight, 18.5 to 22.9 normal, 23 to 24.9 overweight, and 25 or above obese. These are lower than the international ranges because health risks appear at a lower BMI in this population.
Is the result accurate for everyone?
No. It is a population estimate. It is not meant for children and teenagers, pregnant or breastfeeding women, athletes with high muscle mass, or people with medical conditions. They should get advice from a doctor or dietitian.