How many calories do daily activities burn?

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Our body has many ways of burning calories when performing daily tasks. The body even burns calories while at rest through basic functions such as breathing, blood circulation, cellular processes.

1. What is the Harris-Benedict formula? How to calculate how to burn calories?

The Harris-Benedict formula is a tool to calculate the body's basal metabolic rate - BMR (the number of calories the body needs to function at rest). With another calculation of this formula, it is possible to calculate how many calories each day needs. From there, if you eat fewer calories than this calculation, it will help you lose weight.
While daily calorie intake and exercise are an important part of weight loss, hormones and metabolism also play an important role.
The Harris-Benedict formula allows you to calculate how many calories you need to eat each day. This recipe is adjusted based on each person's gender, age, and weight to provide the right amount of calories.
After calculating your BMR, you can multiply this number by a measure of your daily activity level (from sedentary to highly active) to find out how many calories you need to consume each day to maintain weight. Here are the steps to calculate it:
Step 1. Calculate the basal metabolic rate (BMR)
Calculation of the basal metabolic rate of the body should be based on gender, age and weight to formula adjustment. The original formulas for calculating this number were as follows: Use pounds for weight, inches for height, and years of age.
For men, use the following formula to calculate calories burned:
66 + (6.2 x weight) + (12.7 x height) - (6.76 x age) = BMR. For example, a 40-year-old man, weighing 81kg, standing 1m83 has a BMR of 2,621.9. This means that at rest, they will burn about 1,829.8 calories in a day. Detailed calculation: 66 + (6.2 x 81) + (12.7 x 183) - (6.76 x 40) = 2,621,9). For females, use the following formula:
655.1 + (4.35 x weight) + (4.7 x height) - (4.7 x age) = BMR. For example, a 40-year-old woman, weighing 50kg, 1m60 tall has a BMR of 1,436.6 Detailed formula: 655.1 + (4.35 x 50) + (4.7 x 160) - (4.7) × 40) = 1,436,6).

Step 2. Determine the level of activity
The activity levels used are as follows:
1,2 or sedentary (little or no exercise). 1,375 or light activity (light exercise 1-3 days per week). 1.55 or moderately active (moderate exercise 3–5 days per week). 1,725 ​​or very active (exercise hard 6–7 days per week). 1.9 or active (exercise, physical work). Example: A lottery ticket seller who walks all day for their job would have an activity level of 1,725 ​​depending on the length and difficulty of the route. A white-collar worker who walks several times a week for exercise will have an activity level of 1.55.
Step 3. Using the full formula
Putting everything together, the Harris-Benedict equation will do the following:
BMR x activity level = calories needed to maintain weight. A 50kg woman who regularly exercises (actively) will need 2,729.5 calories to maintain her weight (equation: 1,436.6 (BMR) x 1.9 (activity level) = 2,729.5 calories ). A moderately active 81kg male will need 4,064 calories to maintain his weight (equation: 2,621.9 (BMR) x 1.55 (activity level) = 4,064 calories).

2. How many calories does the body burn from daily activities?

From the examples above, activity level has a lot to do with daily calorie needs. Many people think that they need to exercise hard to burn calories, but doing normal daily tasks is also an effective way to burn calories. Besides, how many calories the body burns is related to weight.

3. Do men and women burn calories differently?

Men and women burn calories at different rates. This is why gender is included in the formula along with age and weight.
Men have less body fat than women. Men also tend to have more muscle. More muscle means the body burns more calories at rest. Therefore, men usually burn more calories than women. That proves that, the body structure of each individual plays an important role.
When we know how many calories the body needs to maintain its current weight, just eat less than that amount. Many people choose to reduce their calorie intake by 500kcal per day to lose weight. For example, a person with a calorie requirement of 2,800 per day to maintain their current weight could lose weight by eating 2,300 calories per day. However, you can also eat as many calories as your body needs, but you should exercise more to burn those calories.
In short, daily calorie intake and exercise are an important part of weight loss, but hormones as well as metabolism also contribute to this process. Therefore, in order to maintain the current weight or lose weight effectively, each person should eat less than the amount of calories their body needs each day, practice sports and supplement with adequate nutrients in their daily meals.

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Reference source: Ministry of Health