| High Calorie = Gain in Weight?
Many people believe that they gain weight because they
have consumed high calorie food, full cream dairy products in particular.
However, this is just a fallacy. Calorie is in fact the major source of
energy for your body. When people consume any food or drinks, it breaks
down in the body and release energy. Energy is the fuel to support your
daily activities, like a car needs the fuel to run its engine.
The unit of measurement for energy is kilocalorie
(Kcal), more commonly known as Calorie (Cal), but kilocalorie is the term
used by most professionals. Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat contain calorie,
in terms of energy density. Fat has nearly 2 times more than Carbohydrate.
Human needs energy to support the basal metabolic rate
include pumping of the heart, breathing, blood circulation, etc., even
when you are at rest. In simple term, if your basal metabolic rate is 1200
kcal and you have slept the whole day without doing other activities, you
would have burnt 1200 kcal on that day.
Your energy needs vary with age, e.g. growing children
and adolescents need more energy than adults. Conversely, elderly needs
less than adults. Moreover, when a person who is sick, pregnant or
lactating, will need more energy to sustain necessary bodily functions.
Some athletes undergo long hours of training daily; therefore, they need a
lot of energy.
When the input is greater than the output, extra weight
will be gained. So don't forget to do more exercise and you can enjoy more
food from now on. |
