Nutrition Requirement for Men and Women Differs, Here’s How

Depending on your age, along with gender, doctors provide basic dietary guidelines to keep in mind.

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Diet and nutrition plays an important part in a person’s health. While gender may determine how much of what is needed, the importance of meeting a minimum basic nutritional requirement remains the same. While women need a higher intake of iron, men need those nutrients that allow them to build muscle; nutrition for bone health is equally important for both.

Nutrients from your diet can be divided into minerals and vitamins. Depending on your age, along with gender, and assuming that you’re an average person with no pre-existing medical conditions, doctors provide basic dietary guidelines to keep in mind.

Below is a breakdown of your daily nutritional requirements depending on where you are located biologically, provided by Dr Vandana Boobna, Senior Consultant, Internal Medicine, Max Super Speciality Hospital, Shalimar Bagh.

Nutrition for Women

Dr Boobna lists down nutritional requirement of women for iron and calcium, along with magnesium and zinc. Main vitamins that are needed for the well-being of the body are listed as follows.

Dr Boobna lists down the daily requirement for women for iron and calcium, along with magnesium and zinc. (Infographics: Shruti Mathur/FIT)

The doctor further makes a mention of menopause and biological processes specific to a women’s body, thereby making their dietary demands very specific. Additionally, though the calcium requirement for younger men and women is the same, it changes with age. Post menopause, women experience a drop in estrogen, the hormone which prevents bone loss. This deficit, therefore, has to be covered with more calcium in their diet.

Nutrition for Men

When it comes to men, their iron requirements are not as high as women, while their calcium requirements remain pretty much the same until the age of 50 when it increases for women.

While zinc is an important mineral for men to include in their diet, its requirement increases further with age along with magnesium.(Infographics: Shruti Mathur/FIT)

While zinc is an important mineral for men to include in their diet, its requirement increases further with age. Magnesium is also required in the diet once men enter their 30s.

It should also be noted that while trying to meet daily requirements, guidance should be taken from a health expert. Though basic guidelines hold true for most people, individual bodies respond to different food items and their nutritional value differently. Hence, always keep a doctor looped in.