EER Calculator — Estimated Energy Requirement

EER calculator (Estimated Energy Requirement calculator) estimates the average dietary energy intake needed to maintain energy balance in healthy, normal-weight individuals.

In other words — this tool, similar to TDEE calculations and the maintenance calorie calculator, will tell you how many calories you can eat each day to maintain your current weight. Read on to find the EER formula and learn about EER nutrition!

Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) is the average energy intake that is needed to maintain the current weight of the individual. Its value depends on:

• Age;
• Sex;
• Weight;
• Height;
• Level of physical activity; and
• Physiological state (e.g., pregnancy, lactation, illness).

The EER calculator calculates the estimated energy requirement using formulas developed by the Institute of Medicine. They can be found below:

Males:

EER = 662 − (9.53 × A) + PA × [(15.91 × W) + (539.6 × H)]

Females:

EER = 354 − (6.91 × A) + PA × [(9.36 × W) + (726 × H)]

where:

EER — estimated energy requirement;

A — age, in years;

W — weight, in kilograms;

H — height, in meters; and

PA — physical activity with the following values:

To answer the question how to calculate EER, we will set up an example scenario. John is a 40-year-old male who wants to maintain his weight. He weighs 70 kilograms and is 172 cm tall. He describes his physical activity level as 'low active' as he has an office job, enjoys walking, and visits the gym from time to time.

Don't worry if you prefer pounds and inches. Our EER calculator has built-in weight and length converters that switch between SI and imperial units automatically. Just select your preferred units!

Our tool will calculate John's estimated energy requirement as follows:

EER = 662 − (9.53 × A) + PA × [(15.91 × W) + (539.6 × H)]

When we input the values above, we can solve the equation:

EER (kcal/day) = 662 − (9.53 × 40) + PA × [(15.91 × 70) + (539.6 × 1.72)]

EER (kcal/day) = 662 − 381.2 + PA × [1113.7 + 928.1]

What about the physical activity level? As you can see in the table above, the 'low active' value for a male equals 1.11.

EER (kcal/day) = 280.8 + 1.11 × 2041.8

EER (kcal/day) = 2547

In our example, John needs to eat 2547 calories per day to maintain his weight. Of course, you can do all the calculations much quicker with our estimated energy requirement calculator!

You just found out how many calories you need to eat to maintain your current weight. Check our BMI or ideal weight calculators to find out if you should change your weight and, therefore, consume more or less energy.

How calories are distributed in the diet is also really important. According to USDA Dietary Guidelines, a healthy diet should have the following distribution of macronutrients (see the macronutrients calculator):

• 10-35% of energy should come from protein;
• 45-65% of energy should come from carbohydrates; and
• 20-35% of energy should come from fat.

Following those recommendations will allow you not only to maintain your weight but may also protect you from diabetes and cardiovascular disease!