Calorie Calculator: Count and Calculate Calories Burned
Topic: Medical Calculators and Charts
Ian C. Langtree - Content Writer/Editor for Disabled World
Published: 2017/12/03 - Updated: 2023/05/31
Contents: Summary - Introduction - Main - Related
Synopsis: Caloric information on how to count and calculate calories in food, includes calculator for daily protein needs, and calculates number of calories burned when exercising or performing activities. A single calorie unit equals the amount of energy (or heat) that is required to increase the temperature of one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. There are 239 calories in 1 kilojoule - A joule is a 1 unit of electrical energy it takes to equal the current of 1 ampere passed through a resistance of 1 ohm for one second.
Introduction
What is a Calorie?
A Calorie is a unit of energy that measures how much energy food provides to the body. The body needs calories to function properly. The amount of Calories in food gives you energy, protein, carbohydrate, nutrients and fat to fuel your body. When you eat food, your body turns the food into fuel, burning it to produce calories (energy).
Main Digest
The calories in your food come from sources such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. For example, a gram of carbohydrate contains 4 calories. A gram of protein also contains 4 calories, where as a gram of fat contains 9 calories, which is more than twice the amount of carbohydrates and protein. This is why a food with the same size serving may have far more calories.
Very large toasted chicken sandwich on a white plate.
Kilojoule and Calorie Calculations
We normally refer to kilocalories as Calories, so when you see 800 calories on a food label it actually means 800 kilocalories, and the same applies when you calculate an activity that burns 800 calories. When referring to food consumption and energy expenditure we refer to them in multiples of 1,000. Thus 1,000 calories = 1 kilocalorie or kcal.
A calorie is the amount of energy (or heat) needed to increase the temperature of one gram of water by 1C. So 1000 calories = 1 kilocalorie, is the energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1kg of water by 1 degree Celsius.
There are 239 calories in 1 kilojoule - A joule is a 1 unit of electrical energy it takes to equal the current of 1 ampere passed through a resistance of 1 ohm for one second.
1,000 joules = 1 kilojoules or kJ.
One calorie has the same energy value as 4.186 joules.
It takes 3,500 calories to equal one pound of body weight.
The energy value per GRAM of various food components includes:
- Water = 0kJ (0 Cal)
- Protein = 17kJ (4 Cal)
- Dietary fibre = 13kJ (3 Cal)
- Fat = 37kJ (9 Cal)
- Alcohol = 29kJ (7 Cal)
- Carbohydrates = 16kJ (4 Cal)
Page Information, Citing and Disclaimer
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Cite This Page (APA): Langtree, I. C. (2017, December 3 - Last revised: 2023, May 31). Calorie Calculator: Count and Calculate Calories Burned. Disabled World. Retrieved September 13, 2024 from www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/calories.php
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