Calculate your calories and exercise goals online

Friday, 26 August 2011 11:09 AM

A snazzy online calculator can help you reach your weight goals. Researchers at the National Institutes of Health have created a mathematical model of what happens when people of varying builds, diets and exercise routines change their habits. The online calculator can be used in a basic form or in a more advanced version that takes metabolism into account for a more accurate result. Some people lose weight and tone up faster than others.

To test the model, the researchers compared predicted weight changes to actual changes in people. "Mathematical modeling lets us make and test predictions about changes in weight and metabolism over time," aid Kevin Hall, Ph.D., an obesity researcher and physicist at the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. 

An adult who has a body mass index (a measure of a person's weight in relation to his or her height) between 25 and 29.9 is considered overweight. Some simple changes to activity levels and calorie intake can reduce your BMI in a matter of weeks - all it takes is a little willpower.

The calculator shows how long it takes to achieve a weight-loss goal for a single permanent change of diet or exercise, including initial calorie intake plus a maintenance phase to stabilise the weight.

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