Calories and Kilocalories: What Differences?

of food and drink. To lose weight, you need to take in fewer calories than your body burns every day. How many calories you need per day depends on many factors. Not just whether you want to maintain, lose or gain weight, but also your gender, age, height, current weight, physical activity level, and metabolic health. To gain weight, you primarily need to consume more calories than you spend. Conversely, you lose weight if you take in fewer calories than you consume. That said, cutting calories without considering which foods to eat is usually not a sustainable way to lose weight. For example, choosing foods that are richer in nutrients will benefit your health more than opting for foods that are poor in nutrients.

Men, women, children: how many calories a day?

• Women. The average, moderately active woman between the ages of 26 and 50 needs to eat around 2,000 calories per day to maintain her weight and 1,500 calories per day to lose around half a pound per week. Young women in their 20s have a higher calorie requirement. They require around 2,200 calories a day to maintain their weight. Women over the age of 50 generally require fewer calories. The average moderately active woman over the age of 50 needs around 1,800 calories.
• Men. The average, moderately active man between the ages of 26 and 45 needs 2,600 calories per day to maintain his weight and 2,100 calories per day to lose half a pound per week. Athletic men may need 2,800 to 3,000. calories per day to maintain their weight and 2,300-2,500 calories per day to lose half a pound of weight per week. Young men between the ages of 19 and 25 have a higher energy requirement. They require an average of 2,800 calories per day to maintain their weight and up to 3,000 if they are active. Energy requirements decrease as they age. Between the ages of 46 and 65, moderately active men need an average of 2,400 calories per day. After age 66, the The average man's caloric requirement decreases to about 2,200 calories per day.
• Children. Children have a highly variable calorie requirement based on age, weight, height and activity level. While the average child requires 1,200-1,400 calories per day, the average moderately active teenager requires 2,000-2,800 calories per day. Active adolescents require even more.

and in drinks or the amount of energy burned during exercise. Depending on the geographic area of ​​origin, energy can also be measured in kilocalories (kcal) and kilojoules (kJ). This can be confusing, especially in counting of calories or by comparing the calorie content of various foods and drinks.

medium-sized (118 grams) provides 105 calories (kcal) or 439 kJ.

, intolerances or personal tastes.

Depending on the geographical area of ​​origin, the nutritional data table can express the energy value of a food or drink in calories, kcal, kJ or a combination of them.

Below is a list of countries and the label they use for energy:

• United States: calories
• Canada: calories
• European Union (EU): kJ and kcal
• Australia and New Zealand: kJ or both kJ and kcal
• China: kJ

, carbohydrates and fats.

Protein and carbohydrates each provide approximately 4 calories (16.7 kJ) per gram, while fat provides 9 calories per gram (37.6 kJ). Alcohol provides 7 calories (29.3 kJ) per gram.

Manufacturers round up to 1 gram closer, so if you quantify the number of calories or kJ from each of the macronutrients, the sum may be slightly different from the number listed on the nutrition label.

Additionally, nutrition labels for foods that contain fiber, classified as carbohydrates, may contain fewer calories than calculated. This is because fiber, depending on the type, is indigestible or poorly digested, thus providing zero or few calories.