WHAT ARE

CALORIES?
Foodtopia
April 16, 2015

WHAT ARE CALORIES?

NUTRITION DEFINITION:
The human body needs calories (energy) to survive,
without energy our cells would die, our hearts and
lungs would stop, and we would perish.
Calories refer to energy consumption through eating
and drinking and energy usage through physical
activity
Calories also tell us how how much energy is in a
specifi c food.

WHAT ARE CALORIES

SCIENCE DEFINITION:
Calories are a unit of energy and anything that
contains energy has calories.
Small calories (cal)
The amount of energy it takes to raise one gram of water
one degree Celsius

Large calories (Cal)

The amount of energy to raise 1,000 grams ( 1 kg) of water
by one degree Celsius
1 Cal = 1000 cal

SOURCE OF CALORIES IN OUR FOOD

Calories in our food come from:
Proteins
1 gram of protein = 4 calories

Fats
1 gram of fat = 9 calories

Carbohydrates
1 gram of carbohydrate = 4 calories

The calories from proteins, fats, and

carbohydrates are combined to determine the
total number of calories for a food item.

CALORIE WEBQUEST
Devise your favorite fast food meal and determine
the nutritional information for that meal
Example: Panera
Broccoli cheddar soup:

Calories 300
Fat 19 grams
Protein 12 grams
Carbohydrates 21 grams