Calories for a woman aged 18–25
Estimated with the Mifflin–St Jeor equation at a reference height of 152 cm — roughly the adult average for Indian women.
2,140 kcal / day A woman aged 18–25, weighing 70 kg at 152 cm, needs approximately 2,140 kcal a day at a moderate activity level. Sedentary, that falls to about 1,650 kcal; very active, it rises to about 2,380 kcal.
Resting metabolic rate alone — the energy used doing nothing — is about 1,380 kcal a day at that weight.
By weight and activity level
| Weight | Sedentary | Lightly active | Moderately active | Very active | Extremely active |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 45 kg | 1,350 | 1,550 | 1,750 | 1,950 | 2,150 |
| 50 kg | 1,410 | 1,620 | 1,830 | 2,030 | 2,240 |
| 55 kg | 1,470 | 1,690 | 1,900 | 2,120 | 2,340 |
| 60 kg | 1,530 | 1,760 | 1,980 | 2,210 | 2,430 |
| 65 kg | 1,590 | 1,830 | 2,060 | 2,290 | 2,530 |
| 70 kg | 1,650 | 1,900 | 2,140 | 2,380 | 2,620 |
| 75 kg | 1,710 | 1,960 | 2,210 | 2,470 | 2,720 |
| 80 kg | 1,770 | 2,030 | 2,290 | 2,550 | 2,810 |
| 85 kg | 1,830 | 2,100 | 2,370 | 2,640 | 2,910 |
| 90 kg | 1,890 | 2,170 | 2,450 | 2,720 | 3,000 |
| 95 kg | 1,950 | 2,240 | 2,520 | 2,810 | 3,100 |
Resting metabolic rate from the Mifflin–St Jeor equation, multiplied by the activity factor. Rounded to the nearest 10 kcal, because the equation is not precise enough to justify a final digit.
Which column is yours
| Level | Factor | What it actually means |
|---|---|---|
| Sedentary | × 1.2 | Desk job, car or metro commute, little deliberate exercise |
| Lightly active | × 1.375 | Some walking each day, light housework, 1–3 easy sessions a week |
| Moderately active | × 1.55 | Gym or sport 3–5 days a week, or a job on your feet all day |
| Very active | × 1.725 | Hard training 6–7 days a week, or physically demanding field work |
| Extremely active | × 1.9 | Physical job plus daily training — rare outside athletes and labourers |
Most people overestimate this. If you are unsure between two levels, the lower one is the safer assumption.
What this figure is, and is not
It is a maintenance estimate: the intake at which your weight should stay roughly where it is. It is not a target to eat exactly, and it is not precise. Mifflin–St Jeor lands within about 10% of measured resting metabolic rate for most people, so treat the number as the middle of a band a couple of hundred kilocalories wide.
The correction is simple and free: eat at the estimate for four weeks, weigh yourself under the same conditions, and adjust by 200 kcal in whichever direction the trend says. Your own data beats any equation.
Height matters too — the table uses 152 cm. Every 10 cm of height adds roughly 100 kcal a day at a moderate activity level, so a taller woman should read one row higher than the weight alone suggests.
Source: Mifflin MD, St Jeor ST, Hill LA, Scott BJ, Daugherty SA, Koh YO. “A new predictive equation for resting energy expenditure in healthy individuals.” Am J Clin Nutr 1990;51(2):241–247.
Reference height: Approximate adult mean heights for India, National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), 2019–21. Used only as a reference height for illustrative tables.
Questions
How many calories does a woman aged 18–25 need per day?
For a 70 kg woman of 152 cm, roughly 1,650 kcal a day if sedentary and about 2,140 kcal if moderately active. Body weight moves the figure by roughly 100 kcal for every 10 kg, and activity level moves it far more than age does.
Do calorie needs fall with age?
Yes, but less dramatically than people expect. In the Mifflin–St Jeor equation each year of age subtracts 5 kcal from resting metabolic rate, so a decade costs about 50 kcal at rest. Most of the real-world decline with age comes from lost muscle and reduced activity rather than from age itself.
How many calories to lose weight at this age?
Take the maintenance figure for your weight and activity level from the table below and subtract 400–600 kcal for roughly 0.5 kg a week. Do not go below about 1,200 kcal a day without medical supervision — at that level it becomes difficult to meet basic nutrient requirements.
Mifflin–St Jeor equation with standard activity multipliers; reference height from NFHS-5 adult averages. General information only — not medical advice. These calculators use published population formulas; they cannot account for your individual health. Consult a doctor before major diet or exercise changes. See data & method for every formula and citation used on this site.