It's not easy to judge the caloric
and nutritional needs of a sick person. As has already been mentioned, a burn patient
or someone with emphysema can easily double their daily caloric
requirements.
 But
we do know about the caloric needs of people with respect to their general
level of activity. Here are some examples of increased caloric requirement
from a field in which there has been considerable research; exercise
physiology.
- If you're not too active and
workout less than 3 times a week, you take your calculated BMR and
add to it your body weight times 3.
- 2,160 (BMR) + 180 (body wt) X 3 = 2,700
calories/day
- With moderate activity, let's say
you workout 3 times a week, add 5 times your weight to your BMR.
- 2,160 (BMR) + 180 (body wt) X 5 =
3,060 calories/day
- A highly active person would multiple
their weight times 10 and add it to their calculated BMR.
- 2,160 (BMR) + 180 (body wt) X 10 =
3,960 calories/day
Another problem with a sick or
recovering person is that their general condition and nutritional needs
can be a moving target. The requirements one week may be completely different
from the week before.
In addition to BMR, estimating body mass
index (BMI) can also be helpful.
Here's a quick way to figure
the body mass index (BMI)
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