2.3.3
Energy Needs
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Basal Metabolic Rate and Physical Activity Level
Basal metabolic rate (BMR) and physical activity level (PAL) are measures of energy requirement and activeness respectively.

Basal metabolic rate (BMR)
- BMR - the absolute minimum level of energy required to stay alive. It covers basic life processes, like breathing and maintaining a heartbeat.
- These processes can take up almost 75% of our daily energy use. The rest is used up by processes like digestion and physical activity.

Factors affecting BMR
- Age - our muscle mass reduces with age. This causes BMR to decrease.
- Gender - as women are generally smaller and have less muscle mass than men, they tend to have lower BMRs than men.
- Exercise/physical activity - the more a person exercises, the more muscle they'll build up. This will raise their BMR.
- Height and weight - the larger or heavier a person's body, the more calories they need and the higher their BMR.

Physical activity level (PAL)
- PAL - a measure of how much exercise someone does or how active they are.
- The more active a person, the higher their PAL will be.

Daily energy requirement equation
- Daily energy requirement (kcal) = BMR × PAL

Balancing energy intake
- To stay at a healthy weight, a person must balance their energy intake.
- A person will gain weight if they consume more energy than they use.
- A person will lose weight if they consume less energy than they use.
Recommended Percentage Intakes
Our main energy sources are proteins, carbohydrates and fats. Government guidelines recommend that we eat them in certain proportions:

Carbohydrates - 50%
- We should get most of them from starchy foods and naturally-occurring sugars (from milk (lactose) and fruit (fructose)).
- A maximum of 5% should come from added sugars.

Fat - 35%
- 35% is recommended as a maximum. Consuming less is fine.
- We should try and consume as little saturated fat as we can.

Protein - 15%
- We should try to eat a mix of proteins (animal and plant based).
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills1.1.2Knife Skills1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating1.1.6Dough & Pastry1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2Food, Nutrition & Health
2.2Micronutrients
3Food Science
3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer
3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food
4Food Safety
4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination
5Food Choice
5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice
5.2British & International Cuisines
6Food Provenance
6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food
6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food6.1.5Food & The Environment6.1.6Food & The Environment 26.1.7Sustainability of Food6.1.8Sustainability of Food 26.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
Jump to other topics
1Food Preparation Skills
1.1Food Preparation Skills
1.1.1General Practical Skills1.1.2Knife Skills1.1.3Preparing Fruit, Vegetables & Using Equipment1.1.4Cooking Methods: Prepare, Shape & Combine1.1.5Sauce Making, Tenderising & Marinating1.1.6Dough & Pastry1.1.7Shaping & Finishing Dough1.1.8Raising Agents & Mixtures1.1.9End of Topic Test - Food Preparation Skills 1
2Food, Nutrition & Health
2.2Micronutrients
3Food Science
3.1Cooking of Food & Heat Transfer
3.2Functional & Chemical Properties of Food
4Food Safety
4.1Food Spoilage & Contamination
5Food Choice
5.1Factors Affecting Food Choice
5.2British & International Cuisines
6Food Provenance
6.1Environmental Impact & Sustainability of Food
6.1.1Food Sources - Intensive & Organic Farming6.1.2Food Sources - Genetically Modified Crops6.1.3Food Sources - Reared Food6.1.4Food Sources - Caught Food6.1.5Food & The Environment6.1.6Food & The Environment 26.1.7Sustainability of Food6.1.8Sustainability of Food 26.1.9End of Topic Test - Environmental Impacts
Practice questions on Energy Needs
Can you answer these? Test yourself with free interactive practice on Seneca — used by over 10 million students.
- 1What is the equation for daily energy requirement?Multiple choice
- 2Factors affecting basal metabolic rate:Fill in the list
- 3What does BMR stand for?Multiple choice
- 4Balancing Energy SourcesPut in order
- 5What are our main energy sources?Fill in the list
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