Even if you don’t exercise, your body burns a significant amount of calories performing day-to-day activities, such as going to work and keeping up with household chores. However, sedentary people burn fewer calories each day than people who exercise regularly; therefore require fewer calories to maintain a healthy body weight.

Sedentary Women

Sedentary women generally burn 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and should consume the same number of calories for healthy weight maintenance. The calorie breakdowns for sedentary women are as follows:

Women ages 19 to 30 burn 1,800 to 2,000 calories



Women ages 31 to 50 years old burn about 1,800 calories



Women older than age 50 burn about 1,600 calories each day.



Sedentary Men

Sedentary men burn more calories than sedentary women because they are generally bigger and have more lean body mass. The USDA reports that sedentary men burn — and therefore should consume -- 2,000 to 2,600 calories each day to maintain a healthy body weight.

However, this general guideline varies slightly by age group:

Men ages 19 to 30 burn 2,400 to 2,600 calories daily



Men between the ages of 31 and 50 burn 2,200 to 2,400 calories



Men older than 50 burn about 2,000 to 2,200 calories each day.



Calories Per Pound

Another way to determine how many calories a sedentary person burns, and therefore should consume, each day is to use his body weight. According to the University of Washington, if you are sedentary or obese, multiply your desirable body weight in pounds by 10 to estimate your calorie expenditure and calorie needs for weight maintenance. If you’re trying to lose weight, decrease your calorie intake by 500 per day, or increase your calorie expenditure by the same amount to lose about one pound per week.

Exceptions