Preschooler Calorie Needs - How Many Calories Does Your Preschooler Need?

If you’re like most parents of young children, you've either worried that your child is not eating enough or is eating too much. Or both. Even though pediatricians assure you that healthy growth is the best indicator of proper food intake, you might still be interested in exactly how many calories your preschooler needs each day.

Preschoolers and Calories

Preschoolers need energy from food for growth, physical activity, and basic body functions like breathing and heart function. The number of calories your preschooler needs each day depends on many things – how big they are, how physically activity they are, growth stage, and whether they are healthy or sick.

But preschoolers grow more slowly than infants and young toddlers. Plus, preschoolers are at a developmental stage where short attention spans and interest in only a few foods are common, making the transition to regular meals challenging. No wonder parents can be concerned about food and calories.

How Many Calories?

Pediatricians generally believe that if your preschooler is growing within the normal range based on population growth charts, s/he is getting the right amount of calories.

Even if your preschooler is growing normally, knowing daily calorie needs can give you an idea of how foods fit into his/her diet. For instance, if you see 120 calories on the food label for one glass of juice, you get a picture of how this food fits into your preschooler’s diet if you know they need 1200 calories a day.

Preschool boys need about 1300-1600 calories a day and preschool girls need about 1200-1500 calories a day if they are moderately active. For more specific numbers, use the list below to find the group that best represents your preschooler's age, weight and height. The range of calories listed for each age covers various activity levels. The low end of the range is for kids who are least active, and the high end is for kids who are most active.

Boys (by age - reference weight - reference height)

Age 3 - 31.5 lb - 37.4 inches: 1142 – 1663 calories

Age 4 - 35.7 lb - 40.2 inches: 1195 – 1763 calories

Age 5 - 40.5 lb - 42.9 inches: 1255 – 1874 calories

Girls (by age - reference weight - reference height)

Age 3 - 30.6 lb - 37.0 inches: 1060 – 1629 calories

Age 4 - 34.8 lb - 39.8 inches: 1113 – 1730 calories

Age 5 - 39.4 lb - 42.5 inches: 1169 – 1834 calories 

Calories in Popular Preschooler Foods

Peanut butter and jelly sandwich: 400 calories (2 Tbsp peanut butter, 1 Tbsp jam or jelly, 2 slices sandwich-size bread)

Fruit snacks: about 80 calories in a single serve package

Cheese snack-crackers: 140 calories per serving (about 1/2 cup)

Yogurt: 90 calories in 4 oz low fat fruit yogurt

Milk, skim: 83 calories per cup (8 fl oz)

Milk, whole: 146 calories per cup (8 fl oz)

Mozzarella string cheese: 80 calories in 1 stick (1 oz)

Apple: 50-100 calories depending on size

Banana: 90-120 calories depending on size

Soda or juice: 100-130 calories per cup (8 fl oz) 

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Sources:

Dietary Reference Intakes for Energy, Carbohydrate, Fiber, Fat, Fatty Acids, Cholesterol, Protein, and Amino Acids. 2005. Food and Nutrition Board, Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, The National Academies Press, Washington, D.C.  

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. 2006. USDA Nutrient Database for Standard Reference, Release 19. Nutrient Data Laboratory Home Page, http://www.ars.usda.gov/nutrientdata

by Kati Chevaux

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