What is a calorie?

Question

What is a calorie and what does my body do with it?

I understand how my body processes proteins and carbs/sugars, how that creates certain reactions that may translate to weight gain, but I don't understand what my body does when it encounters a "calorie."

I know that answers.com says, "A unit of energy-producing potential equal to this amount of heat that is contained in food and released upon oxidation by the body." I don't know what to do with that.

Can someone provide an explanation of what my body does with a calorie? How it reacts to it and how that translates to weight gain?

Thank you.

Answer 1

Take your pick depending on what you are really asking (food wise or energy wise).

1. The quantity of thermal energy required to raise one gram of water 1°C at 15°C (energy unit; a single calorie is the amount heat needed to increase the temperature of one gram of water by one degree centigrade).
2. The standard unit for energy measurement in nutrition.
3. A measurement of the energy content of food (the body needs calories as "fuel" to perform all of its functions, such as breathing, circulating the blood, and physical activity; when a person is sick, their body may need extra calories to fight fever or other problems).
4. A unit of measure for the amount of energy released when the body breaks down food.

I think #4 really answers your question. Your body uses energy to burn the energy in the food you eat via the use of metabolism; the process of changing energy sources (calories) into energy. For example, food proteins are metabolized into energy or heat to be used or absorbed by the body.

This translates to weight loss/weight gain as such:

1. If one burns more calories than they take in, this translates to weight loss because you are using more calories than you are taking in, metabolism increases, and food energy and/or fat energy (aka stored energy) is burned.
2. If one takes in more calories than they burn, this translates to weight gain because you are now using burning less calories than you are taking in, metabolism decreases, and that food energy and/or fat energy is now being stored on the body, thus weight increases; usually resulting in an increase of fat due to non-expenditure.
3. If one takes in the same amount of calories as they burn, this is known as maintenance or maintaining weight. Equal intake of energy and energy being burned, the weight stays the same.

Hope this helps.

Answer 2

What your definition is saying is that a calorie is a unit of energy. The body requires energy in the form of calories to perfom lots of everyday tasks, such as walking or even just sitting at the computer.

3500 calories is equal to a pound.

Answer 3

A calorie is a measure of how much energy your body can get out of food. A food calorie is actually equal to 1000 physics calories, which means that if you eat one calorie you will be able to do the force equivalent to that much energy.

Answer 4

A measurement of the energy content of food. The body needs calories as "fuel" to perform all of its functions, such as breathing, circulating the blood, and physical activity. When a person is sick, their body may need extra calories to fight fever or other problems.

Answer 5

Calorie is energy. If you don't use that energy. it will go to waste.
The energy that is in your body (from the food & drinks) is used to stimulate hormones so that you body has enough power to do more activity (such as exercise). If your body is receiving this energy (calorie) and not use it to do enough activity (or exercise), then these hormones your body produces will not burn (because when you exercise your body temperature is rising and the hormones will get out of you body in form of sweat and steam) and become waste inside your body, and to pile up in form of fat. This fat is piling inside your blood streams and eventually clog them and that's basically how you get a heart attack.
You may not get fat because of this calorie, but it's still dangerous to your body.

Answer 6

The quantity of thermal energy required to raise one gram of water 1°C at 15°C.

Answer 7

A calorie is how much energy it takes to raise the temerature of 1kg of pure water by one celsius degree.