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calories, kcalories..?

  • 27-06-2006 11:15AM
    #1
    Yufster
    Closed Accounts Posts: 7 ✭


    Hi all. Just a quick question... I'm confused...

    kcal means what exactly? I was looking at Marmite the other day and I noticed that one portion of it (which is very tiny!) contains 9kcals.... that, in my mind, means 9,000 calories!

    I suppose kcals means just calories, right? It contains 9 calories... not 9000.... right?! otherwise I think I may be about to explode...


Comments

  • #2
    t-ha
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,479 ✭✭✭t-ha


    Yufster wrote:
    Hi all. Just a quick question... I'm confused...

    kcal means what exactly? I was looking at Marmite the other day and I noticed that one portion of it (which is very tiny!) contains 9kcals.... that, in my mind, means 9,000 calories!

    I suppose kcals means just calories, right? It contains 9 calories... not 9000.... right?! otherwise I think I may be about to explode...
    1kcal = 1,000 cals
    1kcal = 1 Cal
    1Cal = 1,000 cals

    as is my understanding.

    No-one really uses "cals", it will be either "kcal" or "Cal". 9kcals is indeed a very tiny portion. Those diet guidelines you see are based on "kcals", as in 2,500 kcals for a guy.


  • #3
    daveirl
    Closed Accounts Posts: 14,483 ✭✭✭✭daveirl


    This post has been deleted.


  • #4
    Clive
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,799 ✭✭✭Clive


    A calorie is the energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1K (1°C), it's about 4.2 joules.

    k stands for kilo, as in kilometre, kilogram etc ie 10^3 so there are 1000 calories in a kilocalorie (kcal).

    That's in terms of science - nutritional information often uses the term "calorie" to mean 1kcal.


  • #5
    ruprect
    Closed Accounts Posts: 630 ✭✭✭ruprect


    t-ha wrote:
    1kcal = 1,000 cals
    1kcal = 1 Cal
    1Cal = 1,000 cals
    Never heard this, and I am a bit nerdy about such things ;) so I went searching and found this, it is not a "recognised convention" (probably why I never heard it), but is in use.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calories

    I just presumed people just drop the kilo bit, like how people say "the limit is 50 k per hour", or "I traveled 50k". dropping the metres as it is presumed. The kilo bit is pretty redundant since nobody will really call out calories in less than 1000 amounts, even diet drinks are 1 kcal.


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