Let’s say we have a man and a woman of the same height and weight. To maintain their current weight they have a recommended calories intake. Why is the mans intake slightly higher (about 300kcal) than the womans?
In: Biology
Theoretically you could have a male and female the same height, weight, muscle mass and fat ratio, and activity levels and they would have the exact same caloric needs. But those numbers published are just averages. Your average man is bigger and has more muscle than your average woman so his calorie count is higher.
But activity level plays a big part in actual caloric needs. A 5’0” 96 lb long distance running female would need much more fuel than a 5’10” 200 lb sedentary male who just laid in bed all day.
Because they have different metabolisms. The basal metabolic rate (BMR) is how much energy you spend on just being alive. And the average BMRs are different for men and women
Calorie requirements in general are different for men and women due to muscle mass proportions which require more calories to maintain their condition and the bodies temperature. Activity levels and overall size are probably greater factors on calorie requirements than sexuality though.
Even at the same height and weight, a man **usually** have more muscles than a woman. And muscles takes a lot of calories to maintain and work.
Humans are a [sexually dimorphic species](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_dimorphism) meaning that male and females of the species have difference characteristics to one-another. [*”The average basal metabolic rate is about 6 percent higher in adolescent males than females and increases to about 10 percent higher after puberty. Females tend to convert more food into fat, while males convert more into muscle and expendable circulating energy reserves. Aggregated data of absolute strength indicates that females have, on average, 40–60% the upper body strength of males, and 70–75% the lower body strength.”*](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sexual_dimorphism#Humans)
Basically, men have on average more muscle than women and tend to be taller, which means you have multiple factors that influence the need for calories to continue regular functions in the body.
If you had a person with the exact same physical attributes as another person of a different gender, down to the muscle mass, daily activity, etc, you’d see very little difference in caloric requirements between them.
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