Necessary caloric intake is being pushed up This is more of a directed question, but do you think that the minimum caloric intake that you often see being recommended is too large? I often watch shows about eating habits and they say the average grown woman needs an average of 2000 calories/day, assuming she's mostly sedentary or very lightly active. I'm a grown woman but I'm short (5"1), so I'd estimate that they would recommend my needed calories to be around 1700. However, if I was mostly sedentary and ate anywhere over 1400 or so calories a day, I would gain weight (and I know this to be true because I've been overweight in the past and have only gotten down to my desired weight by controlling my calorie intake). All of my short, slim female friends also eat about 1300 calories/day, and they feel satisfied, are healthy and maintain their weight. Does anyone else think that the recommended caloric intake is often inflated, especially in the media?