calorie

Everyday

1. A calorie is a unit used to measure how much energy food gives your body. tree →
2. In science, a calorie is a small unit of heat energy. tree →

In the lessons

In health and food lessons calories show the energy in food on labels (often as kcal, «kilocalories»); the body uses energy to move, grow and keep warm. Children need enough calories to grow; pupils learn about balance, not counting every calorie. In maths, food labels are used for problems with totals and comparisons.

Examples

• A banana has about 100 calories. tree →
• Running burns more calories than walking. tree →
• Look at the label to see how many calories are in a serving. tree →
• Growing children need plenty of calories. tree →
• Fizzy drinks have lots of calories but few vitamins. tree →
• If one biscuit has 50 calories, three have 150. tree →

Note

Countable: calories. Food labels often say «kcal»; in everyday talk people call kilocalories «calories». Some countries also use kilojoules (kJ), for example Australia and New Zealand. Calories are not bad: you need them to live.