Calorie is a unit of energy used to measure the increase in temperature of 1gram of water by 1 degree Celsius.

kilo joule

We measure energy by kilo joule, so it is a unit of energy measurement.

Kilo joules present in food

Food gives us energy to do our body’s function properly. We get this energy mainly from fat carbohydrate and protein.

Example

We know that 1calorie =4.3kilojoule=4kj

Quantity	Nutrient	calorie	kj
1gram	fat	9	36
1gram	carbohydrate	4	16
1gram	protein	4	16

Conversion of kilo joule to calorie for common food items – kj to calories

Food	Amount	kj	calorie
Rice	50	688	173
Cheese	25 gram	280	70
Bread	50 gram	488	122
Apple juice	252ml	340	85
Sugar	20 gram	240	60

Conversion of calorie to kilo joule for our daily needs ( activity based)

Kj	calorie	Activity
9588	2397	sedentary (man)
11192	2798	moderate (man)
15300	3825	heavy (man)
7640	1910	sedentary (woman)
8460	2115	moderate (woman)
12040	3010	heavy (woman)

 

Consuming kilo joule – More or less?

If we consume more kilo joule than that is our requirement, then the excess amount is stored in our adipose cell results in obesity. If we consume a very low amount of kilo joule than that is our requirement, we will lose our weight, which will lead to fatigue.

Points to be kept in mind about kilo joule

We can assess our body’s energy by the unit kilo joule. Kilo joule mainly comes from carbohydrate, fat and protein in our body and the requirement of kilo joule is not same in every people. It is varies from people to people (according to physical activities, basal metabolic rate, age, sex etc.). So to lead a healthy life we should have balanced diet. If we not do this we will suffer from obesity (after consuming