With all the talk of the calorie counter and calorie calculator that are typically used in conjunction with a food diary, it’s no surprise that English-speaking people often have a vague idea of what the term “calorie" really means. When asked, many respond with a definition such as “something that makes you fat."



Given the media hype, this response is understandable; however, it is quite inaccurate. Many years ago, when Latin was a required subject in public schools, students would have recognized the root word calor, meaning “heat;" people trained in music understand that a when a piece is marked with the Italian phrase con calore, it means to play with warmth.

This in fact is what a calorie is; simply a measure of heat energy. Scientifically speaking, a calorie is the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water (a little over a quart, or about 35 ounces) by one degree Celsius (1.6 degrees Fahrenheit).

When it comes to nutrition, dieticians attempt to apply this measurement to the energy contained in food. A calorie calculator is one way to take such measurements. Although it is impossible to be 100% accurate (outside of laboratory conditions), use of a calorie calculator in conjunction with a food diary and exercise journal can give one a fairly good idea as to one’s progress in any fitness program.

When using a calorie-counter (and there are several available online), it is however a good idea not to become too obsessed with the numbers. As suggested earlier, any measure of the caloric content of a given food is inexact at best.

It is the same with calorie calculators, which attempt to measure the number of calories expended during physical activity. For example, a heavy and/or muscular person will typically burn more calories when performing a given exercise than a lightweight person doing the same thing, since movement requires greater effort. Likewise, men tend to burn more calories than women due to their greater muscle mass (muscle tissue requires more energy to maintain itself).

Instead of obsessing with calorie counters and calorie calculators (which can only provide rough estimates in any event), it is best to pay more attention to one’s food choices – and to one’s bodily response. This is where a food diary – a record of what one ingests on a daily basis.

A food diary will assist the dieter in determining which foods in which amounts are helping and hindering his or her weight loss efforts. It will also help one in becoming more aware in one’s food choices – something that many people in the U.S. fail to do. It’s worth noting that people in France typically consume a great deal more fat that Americans, yet the obesity rate in France is a mere 8%, compared to nearly 50% in the U.S. This is largely due to lifestyle – the French people walk and bicycle far more, and most importantly, have the privilege of lingering over their meals.

This is a “luxury" that Americans do not often have today in the frantic pace of U.S. work culture – but it might be something worth fighting for.