CALCULATE THE ENERGY CONTENT OF FOOD ITEMS

CLASSIFICATION OF FOODS
There are many ways of classifying foods:
I. Classification by origin : 1) Foods of animal origin 2) Foods of vegetable origin.
II. Classification by chemical composition : 1) Proteins 2) Fats 3) Carbohydrates 4) Vitamins
5) Minerals.
III. Classification by predominant function:
1) Body-building foods, e.g., milk, meat, poultry, fish, eggs, pulses, groundnuts, etc.
2) Energy-giving foods, e.g., cereals, sugars, roots and tubers, fats and oils.
3) Protective foods, e.g., vegetables, fruits, milk.
IV. Classification by nutritive value : 1) Cereals and millets 2) Pulses (legumes) 3) Vegetables 4) Nuts and
oilseeds 5) Fruits 6) Animal foods 7) Fats and oils 8) Sugar and jaggery
9) Condiments and spices 10) Miscellaneous foods.
Food is comprised of macronutrients including protein , carbohydrates and fat that not only offer calories to
fuel the body and give it energy but play specific roles in maintaining health. Food also supplies micronutrients
(vitamins and minerals ) and phytochemicals that don’t provide calories but serve a variety of critical function
to ensure the body operates optimally.
MACRONUTRIENTS : Proteins, Carbohydrates and Fats :
Proteins : Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins which are needed for growth development , and
repair and maintenance of body tissues. Proteins provide structures to muscle and bone , repair tissues when
damaged immune cells fight inflammation and infection.
Carbohydrates : The main role of a carbohydrate is to provide energy and fuel the body the same way
gasoline fuels a car.
Energy allows the body to do daily activities as simple as walking and talking and as complex as running and
moving heavy objects. Fuel is needed for growth , which makes sufficient fuel especially important for growing
children and pregnant women. Even at rest , the body needs calories to perform vital functions such as
maintaining body temperature , keeping the heart beating and digesting food.
Fats: Dietary fats provides structure to cells and cushions membrane to help prevent damage. Oils and fats
are also essentials for absorbing fat- soluble vitamins including vitamin A , nutrient important for healthy eyes
and lungs.
Micronutrients :
Vitamins and minerals are food components that help support overall and play important roles in cells
metabolism and neurological functions.
Vitamins aid in energy production , wound healing , bone formation , immunity and eye and skin health.
Minerals help maintain cardiovascular health and provide structure to the skeleton.
GLYCEMIC INDEX : It is defined by the area under the two-hour blood glucose response curve (AUC) following
the ingestion of a fixed portion of test carbohydrate (usually 50 g) as a proportion (%) of the AUC of the
standard (either glucose or white bread).
Those food items which favors slow release of food items are termed low glycaemic index foods as compared
to high glycaemic foods with readily digestible and absorbable sugar.

Classification :
Low Gl - 55 or less most fruit and vegetables (except potatoes, watermelon and sweet ·corn), whole grains,
pasta foods, beans, lentils
Medium GI - 56-69 - sucrose, basmati rice, brown rice
High GI - 70 or corn flakes, baked potato, some white rice varieties (e.g. jasmine), white bread, candy bar and
syrupy foods.
Importance of Glycemic index :
Low glycemic index diets have also reported to improve the serum lipid profile, reduce C – reactive proteins
(CRP) concentrations and aid in weight control. In cross sectional studies , low GI or glycemic load diets ( mean
GI multiplied by total carbohydrates ) have been associated with higher levels of high density cholesterol
(HDL ) , with reduced CRP concentrations ,and in cohort studies with decreased risk of developing diabetes
and cardiovascular disease. One theory about the effect of low GI diet is appetite control.
RECOMMENDED DAILY ALLOWANCE : The average daily dietary intake level sufficient to meet the nutrient
requirement of nearly all (97-98%) healthy individuals in a particular life stages and gender group . The
purpose of recommending nutritional requirements is to help attaining these anthropometric reference
standards.
Eg. RDA of Vitamin A : 900 µg /day for male ; 700 µg /day for Female
REFERENCE BODY WEIGHTS :
Reference Indian adult man and woman :
"Reference man" is aged between 18-29 years and weighs 60 kg with a height of 1. 73 metre and a BMI of
20.3; is free from disease and physically fit for active work. On each working day, he is engaged in 8 hours of
occupation which usually involves moderate activity; while when not at work he spends 8 hours in bed, 4-6
hours in sitting and moving about, 2 hours in walking and in active recreation or household duties.
"Reference woman" is aged between 18-29 years, nonpregnant non-lactating (NPNL) and weighs 55 kg with a
height of 1.61 metre and a BMI of 21.2, is free from disease and physically fit for active work. On each working
day she is engaged in 8 hours of occupation, which usually involves moderate activity, while when not at work
she spends 8 hours in bed, 4-6 hours in sitting and moving about, 2 hours in walking and in active recreation
or household duties.
Infants : The average of birth weight and body weight at 6 months is used for computing the reference body
weight for infants 0-6 months of age. For 6-12 months, an average of body weight at 6 months and at 12
months is taken for computation.
Children : For children 1-3 years of age, an average of body weight at 18 months, 30 months, 42 months of
WHO median weight is taken (as mentioned above). The reference body weight for children of 4-6 years are
obtained by averaging the body weight of 4+, 5 + and 6+ years. Similarly for other age groups also the
reference body weights were obtained from the 95th centile value of body weights of rural India.
MEASUREMENT OF ENERGY:
The energy value of foods has long been expressed in terms of the kilo calorie (kcal). The kilocalorie is
generally expressed as "Calorie"- written with a capital "C" . This has been replaced by the "joule" expressed
as J, which has been accepted internationally.
These units are defined as follows: Joule, a physical unit of energy, is defined as the energy required to move 1
kg of mass by 1 metre by a force of 1 Newton acting on it (One Newton is the force needed to accelerate one
kg mass by 1 metre per sec2).
Kilocalorie (kcal) is defined as the heat required to raise the temperature of one kg of water by 1°C from
14.5°C to 15.5°C.
The relationship between the two units of energy is as follows:
1 kcal = 4.184 KJ (Kilo Joule)
1 KJ =0.239 kcal
1000 kcal =4184 KJ / 4.18 MJ (Mega Joule)
1 MJ= 239 kcal
How to calculate energy content of food items ?
The estimated energy requirement (EER) is the average dietary energy intake predicted to maintain an energy
balance.. Differences in the genetics, body composition. metabolism and behaviour of individuals makes it
difficult to accurately predict an individual's calorie requirements.
Eg. Calculation for energy requirement for 55kgs person , doing moderate work :
For BMR = 24X 55 kg = 1320 kcal
+ for Activity = 40% of BMR = 520 kcal
Subtotal = 1320 + 520 = 1840Kcal
+ need for SDA = 1840x 10% = 184 kcal
Total 1840+ 184 = 2024 kcal
Rounding to nearest multiple of 50 = 2050 kcal

AVERAGE ENERGY REQUIREMENT FOR DIFFERENT GROUP OF WORKING CLASS :

Energy requirement Protein requirement
Adult male - 70 kgs
 Sedentary – 2320 kcal
 Moderate – 2730 kcal 0.83 g /kg
 Heavy – 3490 kcal
Adult female – 60 kgs
 Sedentary – 1900 kcal
 Moderate – 2230 kcal 0.83 g /kg
 Heavy – 2850 kcal
Children
Infants – 100 kcal /kg 1.5 2 g /kg
1-5 yrs – 81 kcal /kg 0.94 g /kg
6 – 10 yrs - 71 kcal /kg 0.91 g /kg
11- 18 yrs (male ) - 60 kcal /kg 0.88g /kg
11- 18 yrs ( female ) – 55 kgs /kg 0.86 g /kg
Pregnancy additional + 350 kcal 18g
Lactational additional
 First 6 mon – 600 kcal 13g
 Next 6 mon – 520 kcal 8g

ENERGY AND CALORIE VALUE OF SOME COMMON FOOD ITEMS :

Item Amount (g) Portion size Energy(kcal) Protein (g) Fat (g) Carb (g)
Boiled rice 150 3 katori 177 3.6 0.3 40
Chapati 30 1 piece 120 3.0 2.0 22.0
Poori 20 1 number 85 1.3 5.2 8.1
Bread 18 I slice 44 1.4 0.2 9.0
Idli 40 1 number 47 1.6 0.1 10.0
Dosa 50 1 no. 108 2.0 4.8 14.1
Rava idli 70 1 no. 103 3.2 3.4 14.6
Ragi ball 260 1 medium 400 8.0 4.0 81.0
Jowar roti 80 1 no. 134 4.0 0.46 28.0
Thick veg 130 ml 1 katori 139 6.1 4.6 17.9
Coconut 18 1 tsp 47 0.8 3.8 2.3
chutney
Tomato 18 1 tsp 23 0.6 1.2 2.4
chutney
Chicken curry 180 ml 1 katori 376 16.9 32.0 5.8
Mutton fry 140 g 1 katori 366 25 25 10
Omelette 78 1 no. 154 11.5 11.5 1.0
Apple 60 1 medium 38 0.2 0.3 9.0
Banana 60 1 medium 93 1.0 0.2 21.3
Guava 100 1 medium 66 1.5 0.2 14.5
Orange 100 1 medium 54 1.0 0.2 12.1