DRI Calculator

Q: How do I calculate the adequate intake of carbs for my children?

Let's do it together: Compute their total caloric needs. Use one of the BMR equations, e.g., Mifflin - St Jeor formula. Calculate the number of calories . Recommended amount of carbohydrates in our diet equals 45-65%. You may want to find out the lower, higher threshold, or both. Carbs (calories) = (Total calories × Recommended percentage) / 100 Calculate the amount of grams . Carbs (grams) = Carbs (calories) / 4 That was simple, wasn't it? 🎉

Q: What is the recommended daily intake for carbohydrates?

The recommended daily intake of carbs is usually 45-65% of the total calories . You can calculate yours by following the steps below: Compute your total caloric needs using one of the basal metabolic rate (BMR) equations (e.g., Mifflin - St Jeor formula). Calculate the number of calories using: Carbs (calories) = (Total calories × Recommended percentage) / 100 Calculate the amount of grams using: Carbs (grams) = Carbs (calories) / 4

Q: What is the carbs intake for an active woman weighing 120 pounds?

270-389 grams of carbs intake. To calculate it, you need to consider the person's age, weight, height, and activity factor. Considering this woman is 20 years old, her height is 5' 4", and she exercises five times/week, her total daily calorie requirement is 2396, and her recommended carbs intake is 270-389 grams.

Q: What is the protein intake for a man weighting 150 pounds?

52-155 grams of protein intake. To calculate the protein intake, you need to consider the person's age, weight, height, and activity factor. Let's say this man is 30 years old, his height is 5' 7", and he doesn't exercise. Using our calculator, you will find that this man's total daily calorie requirement is 2063 , and his protein intake should be between 52 and 155g .

Q: How do I increase my protein intake?

To increase your protein intake, you should: Use different protein sources from animals and plants, such as beans, peanuts, soybeans, nuts, spinach, broccoli, etc; Plan your meals in advance; Bet on practical protein snacks ; and Use supplements.

Creators

Łucja Zaborowska, MD, PhD candidate

Łucja Zaborowska

MD, PhD candidate

Website

Research Gate

Łucja is a physician and researcher specializing in obstetrics and gynecology. She is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Medical Sciences at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. Her engagement in the subject is extensive, including academics, research, and clinical practice. In addition to her main duties, she also lectures at the university and oversees student research groups. On a personal note, her love for dogs has inspired her to start fostering, giving them a safe place to stay until they find their forever homes. See full profile

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Reviewers

Anna Szczepanek, PhD

Anna Szczepanek

PhD, Jagiellonian University in Kraków, Poland

Website

Anna Szczepanek, PhD is a mathematician at the Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science of the Jagiellonian University in Kraków, where she researches mathematical physics and applied mathematics. At Omni, Anna uses her knowledge and programming skills to create math and statistics calculators. In her free time, she enjoys hiking and reading. See full profile

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and Adena Benn

Adena Benn

Website

Adena Benn is a Guyanese teacher with a degree in computer science who is always reading and learning. She loves problem-solving, everything tech, and working with teenagers. She has a passion for education and is especially interested in how children learn and the teaching methods that best suit their learning styles. She grew up on a farm in Pomeroon, Guyana, where she worked alongside her parents and siblings. As such, she is just as comfortable growing plants as teaching in the classroom. In her early life, she also gained expertise as a seamstress, which she learned from her mother. By grade 9, she had already acquired her dressmaker's certificate. Today she uses her skills to design many items for her family. In her free time, Adena loves to read, take long walks, write children’s stories and poetry, travel, or spend time with her family. See full profile

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New

The DRI calculator is the ultimate way to compute all the necessary macro-, micronutrition, and vitamins needed in your daily menu.

🥦 Looking for ways to improve your diet? Our daily nutritional requirements tool will supply you with an overview of your caloric needs, adequate to your level of activity and eventual status of pregnancy or lactation.

Dietary reference intake or daily recommended intake? Keep on reading to discover what are your target vitamin levels and how many grams of proteins per day is enough.

Don't forget to visit the vitamin calculator and the protein calculator for a dose of specific knowledge on these subjects!

We try our best to make our Omni Calculators as precise and reliable as possible. However, this tool can never replace a professional doctor's assessment. If any health condition bothers you, consult a physician.

What is DRI?

DRI stands for the dietary reference intake, sometimes incorrectly called the daily recommended intake. National Academy introduced the DRIs in 1997 - they serve as a source of multiple daily nutritional requirements in both the US and Canada. To put it simply, the DRIs tell us how much water, calories, macronutrients, and vitamins a given person should consume daily - the entire estimation is based on sex, age, and activity level. 🚴

The professionals may use the DRI recommendations to create diets for people in different public institutions, such as hospitals, schools, or prisons. They're also helpful for companies coming up with new foods or dietary supplements.

We can distinguish a few different types of recommendations:

Estimated Average Requirements (EAR) - can statistically satisfy the needs of 50% of people in a given group;
Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) - satisfy the needs of 97.5% of people in a given group; (we base our DRI-RDA calculator mostly on these)
Adequate Intake (AI) - for less precise estimation;
Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Ranges (AMDR) - ranges written in percentages, helpful in calculating protein needs and estimating the amount of fats or carbohydrates a given person should consume.

How to calculate DRI?

In order to calculate your daily nutrition, we need to know a few things:

Your daily caloric needs.
The amount of calories you should consume daily, multiplied by your activity level allows us to:
- Calculate your protein intake
  10-30% of total calories (for adults)
- Amount of fats -
  20-35% of total calories (for adults)
- Consumption of carbohydrates
  45-65% of total calories
- Recommended water intake
  1 kcal = 1 mL
- Number of grams of fiber
  Fiber = (kcal/1000) × 14

💡 To calculate the total calories, our DRI calculator uses the BMR Mifflin St Jeor Equation. The formula calls for your weight, height, age, and sex.

Your DRI category.

Our DRI calculator divides the population into multiple groups based on sex, age, and the presence or absence of pregnancy or lactation. We took these populations from the Recommended Dietary References tables published by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

The given category allows us to discover:

Your target vitamin amount given in mg, mcg or IU ;
Your recommended macronutrients intake in grams and calories (see: grams to calories calculator); and
The amount of minerals you should consume daily.

With all this knowledge combined, our DRI calculator for healthcare professionals can be easily used by everyone who's willing to improve their nutrition score.

How do I calculate my protein intake?

To calculate your protein needs, follow these few simple steps:

Compute your total caloric needs.

Use one of the BMR equations, e.g., Mifflin - St Jeor formula.
Find your age group and the recommended percentage in the table below:

Choose lower/ upper range or both.

Age	Proteins
0-3 years	5-20%
>3 years	10-30%

Calculate the amount of calories.

Proteins (calories) = (Total calories × Recommended percentage) / 100
Calculate the amount of grams.

Proteins (grams) = Proteins (calories) / 4
That's it! You're all done. 🎉

How to calculate the adequate intake of fats?

It's not that difficult - we have four extra steps in front of us:

Compute your total caloric needs.

Use one of the BMR equations, e.g., Mifflin - St Jeor formula.
Find your age group and the recommended percentage in the table below:

Choose lower/ upper range or both.

Age	Fat
0-3 years	30-40%
4-18 years	25-35%
>18 years	20-35%

Calculate the number of calories.

Fat (calories) = (Total calories × Recommended percentage) / 100
Calculate the amount of grams.

Fat (grams) = Fat (calories) / 9
Wow! You've done it! 🎉

How do I calculate the adequate intake of carbs for my children?

Let's do it together:

Compute their total caloric needs.

Use one of the BMR equations, e.g., Mifflin - St Jeor formula.
Calculate the number of calories.

Recommended amount of carbohydrates in our diet equals 45-65%. You may want to find out the lower, higher threshold, or both.

Carbs (calories) = (Total calories × Recommended percentage) / 100
Calculate the amount of grams.

Carbs (grams) = Carbs (calories) / 4
That was simple, wasn't it? 🎉

How do I calculate my adequate intake of iron?

To find the daily recommended intake of iron, we need to use one of the Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDA) tables of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Age	Male	Female
Birth to 6 months	0.27 mg	0.27 mg
7–12 months	11 mg	11 mg
1–3 years	7 mg	7 mg
4–8 years	10 mg	10 mg
9–13 years	8 mg	8 mg
14–18 years	11 mg	15 mg
19–50 years	8 mg	18 mg
51+ years	8 mg	8 mg

🤰 These amounts are a bit different for pregnant or lactating women:

Age	Pregnant	Lactating
14–18 years	27 mg	10 mg
19–50 years	27 mg	9 mg

FAQs

What is the recommended daily intake for carbohydrates?

The recommended daily intake of carbs is usually 45-65% of the total calories. You can calculate yours by following the steps below:

Compute your total caloric needs using one of the basal metabolic rate (BMR) equations (e.g., Mifflin - St Jeor formula).
Calculate the number of calories using:

Carbs (calories) = (Total calories × Recommended percentage) / 100
Calculate the amount of grams using:

Carbs (grams) = Carbs (calories) / 4

What is the carbs intake for an active woman weighing 120 pounds?

270-389 grams of carbs intake. To calculate it, you need to consider the person's age, weight, height, and activity factor. Considering this woman is 20 years old, her height is 5' 4", and she exercises five times/week, her total daily calorie requirement is 2396, and her recommended carbs intake is 270-389 grams.

What is the protein intake for a man weighting 150 pounds?

52-155 grams of protein intake. To calculate the protein intake, you need to consider the person's age, weight, height, and activity factor. Let's say this man is 30 years old, his height is 5' 7", and he doesn't exercise. Using our calculator, you will find that this man's total daily calorie requirement is 2063, and his protein intake should be between 52 and 155g.

How do I increase my protein intake?

To increase your protein intake, you should:

Use different protein sources from animals and plants, such as beans, peanuts, soybeans, nuts, spinach, broccoli, etc;
Plan your meals in advance;
Bet on practical protein snacks; and
Use supplements.

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