The “heat” of food: the most important thing to know about calories

In 1890, physicist Wilbur O. Atwater began studying the calorie content of different foods and noting how the number of calories consumed affects weight. In 1918, the first book on calorie counting, Diet and Health by Lulu Hunt Peters, was published.

This is the most practical way to estimate the specific gravity of foods. If you eat more calories than you burn, they stay in the body and lead to weight gain, but if you eat less, you will lose weight. But counting calories is not enough to lose weight: it depends a lot on the metabolic rate and the number of calories your body needs.

It depends on gender, age, and activity level, as well as bone properties, height, weight, metabolism, and many other factors, they just have less of an effect on the calculus. There are many calculators and menus on the Internet for various tasks, but losing weight is best done under the guidance of a good nutritionist. There is, for example, a rule about the percentage of carbohydrates, proteins and fats – 40-30-30, but in some cases there will be a bias in favor of protein, in someone – carbohydrates.

It is believed that 8000 calories correspond to one kilogram of fat. Some rely on this when choosing a diet, but this approach cannot be called scientific.

Many mistakenly believe that the calories of conventional chocolate and broccoli are the same. It’s not true! In healthy products, there are more elements needed by the body. And while the body knows what to do with the calories in yogurt, the sweeteners and flavor enhancers in store-bought candies confuse it.