High Calorie And Low Calorie Diet
March 1, 2020 | by Yashaswi Pathakamuri | Posted in Nutrition Facts
High Calorie Diets
High calorie diets are prescribed for patients who are malnourished and underweight. Weight loss also occurs in many diseases such as tuberculosis, hyperthyroidism, prolonged fevers etc.
Nutritional Composition
Calories: Diets should provide about 500 calories in excess of the daily needs. Calories are mostly obtained from fat.
Protein: Proteins intake should be 50% more than the requirements. The proteins should be of high quality and derived mostly from milk and other animal foods.
Vitamin And Minerals: High calorie diets will usually contain adequate amounts of different vitamins and minerals. It is desirable to supplement the diet with multi vitamin-mineral diet.
High Calorie Diet For Adults (g/day)
Calories:3000-4000 kcal; Proteins:80-100 g; Fats:60-80 g; Carbohydrates:400-500 g.
| Foodstuffs | Vegetarian | Non-vegetarian |
| Cereals | 300-400 | 300-400 |
| Legumes | 80-100 | 80-100 |
| Milk (cow) | 1000-1500 | 800-1000 |
| Meat and fish | _ | 50 |
| Eggs | _ | 30 |
| Nuts | 100-150 | 100-150 |
| Fats and oils | 100 | 100 |
| Sugar and jaggery | 100 | 100 |
| Fruits | 200-300 | 200-300 |
| Green leafy vegetables | 100 | 100 |
| Other vegetables | 100 | 100 |
Low Calorie Diets
Low calorie diets are prescribed for obese persons. The aim is to produce calorie deficit in the body which will result in the fat stored in the adipose tissue being used to meet the calorie needs. It has been observed in obese adults that a diet providing about half the requirements of calories for persons leading sedentary life (1100 kcal) will help to reduce the body weight by 1 to 1.5 kg a week. Consumption of diet providing 1300 kcal may help to reduce the body weight by 0.5–1.0 kg per week. The composition of diets providing 1100, 1300 and 1500 kcal is given:
Low Calorie Diet For Adults (g/day)
| Foodstuff | Diet 1100 calories Veg – Non-veg | Diet 1300 calories Veg – Non-veg | Diet 1500 calories Veg – Non-veg |
| Cereals | (80) – (80) | (100) – (100) | (130) – (130) |
| Legumes | (60) – (40) | (70) – (50) | (80) – (60) |
| Skim milk powder or | (100) – (50) | (100) – (50) | (100) – (50) |
| Skim milk fluid | (1000) – (500) | (1000) – (500) | (100) – 500) |
| Cheese | (50) – (_) | (50) – (_) | (50) – (_) |
| Meat and fish | (_) – (50) | (_) – (60) | (_) – (70) |
| Egg | (_) – (60) | (_) – (80) | (_) – (100) |
| Green leafy vegetables | (150) – (150) | (150) – (150) | (150) – (150) |
| Other vegetables | (200) – (200) | (200) – (200) | (200) – (200) |
| Roots and tubers | (100)- (100) | (100) – (100) | (100) – (100) |
| Fruits | (50)- (50) | (50) – (50) | (50) – (50) |
| Fats and oils | (15)- (15) | (20) – (20) | (25) – (25) |
| Cane sugar | (15)- (15) | (20) – (20) | (25) – (25) |
| Multi vitamin-mineral tablet | (1)- (1) | (1) – (1) | (1) – (1) |