Calories and diet.
The energy released, when a specific quantity of foodstuff is ingested, is  measured in calories. By technical definition, one calorie is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Centigrade. The "dietary calorie" known as a measure unit, commonly used to describe the energy in food, is actually a kilocalorie or 1000 calories. This is the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water (about 2.2 pounds) by one degree Centigrade.
Not all foods of the same weight provide equal amounts of energy. A cake, for instance, has a lot of calories, whereas leafy vegetables are of very low caloric content.
Although calories can be of different dietary origin, they are energy measure units and they cannot be of different types. For example, a calorie derived from fat represents the same value of energy to a calorie provided by protein.
A person's caloric need is determined by using a variety of mathematical equations. Age, gender, height, current weight, desired weight, muscularity and height are taken into account.
The amount of calories in a diet indicates how much energy the diet can provide to the individual per meal or over a particular period of time.
The body breaks down food molecules, in order to release the energy stored in them. This energy is needed for vital functions such as brain function, body movement or growth. The body stores energy in the form of fat in the relevant cells for future use.
The process of breaking down food to energy is called metabolism. Increased mental and physical activity results in elevated metabolism, as the body needs more fuel. While the activity is less, the body continues to store energy in fat cells for later further use. Therefore, weight gain is the aftermath of either increased intake of food or decreased activity or both.
The nutrition labels on food packages indicate the number of calories contained in the product.
Recommendations about calories and diet.
Diets that are excessively low in calories are not considered safe and do not result in healthy weight loss. A more friendly and healthy method of weight management is the one which involves a diet of moderate caloric intake and encourages routine aerobic exercise. Children and young adults should not follow caloric limitations below the recommended dietary allowance, because they require a certain amount of calories for growth and development. Healthy eating habits for the entire family can accomplish the caloric level that is required for a child or a young adult to reach a desirable weight. |
