How many carbohydrates should the average person have per day?

A person who typically eats a 2000-calorie diet per day can consume 1000 of those calories in carbohydrates per day; the 1000 calories from carbohydrates equals 250 grams of carbohydrates. Approximately half of a person's required daily calories must come from carbohydrates.

To ascertain exactly how many grams of carbohydrates an average person requires daily, divide the number of total calories he needs by two; then divide that result by four, since one gram of carbohydrate contains four calories. A person on a 3000-calorie diet per day, requires approximately 1500 calories from carbohydrates, which equals 375 grams of carbohydrates on a daily basis.

In order to monitor the intake of carbohydrates, it is a good habit to check the "Nutrition Facts" labels on packaged food items, which mention the amount of carbohydrates present in each serving.