Calories are a unit of measurement used to quantify the energy contained in food and beverages. The body needs a certain number of calories each day to function properly, including breathing, circulating blood, and maintaining body temperature. The number of calories a person needs varies depending on their age, gender, weight, height, and activity level.
Understanding the calorie content of foods and beverages is essential for maintaining a healthy weight. Consuming more calories than the body needs can lead to weight gain, while consuming fewer calories than the body needs can lead to weight loss.
The calorie content of foods and beverages can be found on nutrition labels, which are required by law to be included on most packaged foods and beverages. It is important to pay attention to serving size and the number of servings in a package when reading nutrition labels to accurately assess the calorie content of a food or beverage.
In conclusion, calories are a unit of measurement used to quantify the energy contained in foods and beverages. Understanding the calorie content of foods and beverages is essential for maintaining a healthy weight. In the next lesson, we will explore how to calculate caloric needs based on individual factors such as age, gender, weight, height, and activity level.