Is a calorie a calorie?

heberlonghurst

A very good blog from the New York Times related to weight loss, diet and nutrition.

http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/is-a-calorie-a-calorie/

BrianSharpe

enjoyed the read (reinforces the basic concept that there's more to nutrition than just calories)

lizard053

An excellent article! It's so true that it is but it isn't. Source of calories does matter to some extent!

imaginaryplaces

Thanks for posting this. I just picked up the book that this column is referring to: Marion Nestle's "Why Calories Count", and have finished the first couple of chapters. So far, it does a nice job of explaining the current science (and the history of the science) of calories and the basics of metabolism. Looks like a good read.

BTW: Her book "What to Eat" is also outstanding.

akjmart2002

As is usually the case with most things, your mileage may vary...

But not because the premise is flawed, but because the execution is conditional.

The answer to the question "Is a calorie a calorie?" is still "Yes".

Tourney3p0

A calorie is a calorie in terms of weight loss, but not nutrition. But then again, nutrition has nothing to do with calories.

Apples and oranges.

imaginaryplaces

For those who haven't read the article, the discussion is more nuanced; it is not an article (or book) about weight loss. It gets at the relationship between food and health in modern society. I'm quoting some of it here because I think it makes some really interesting points:

"Here’s what is true, she said: “The studies that have measured calorie intake, that have put people on calorie-reduced diets and measured what happened, show no difference in weight loss based on composition of the diet.” When people are essentially incarcerated, when all intake is weighed and measured, they will lose weight if the calories in their diets are reduced — regardless of the composition of the diet.

“That’s why we hear a calorie is a calorie,” she said. “But no one lives under experimental conditions, and foods are complicated mixtures: fiber makes a difference and form makes a difference.” (Fiber is special because it’s not digested or digested incompletely. Most of its calories don’t get into the body, which is one reason why fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber, help with weight loss.)

The “calorie is a calorie” argument is widely used by the processed food industry to explain that weight loss isn’t really about what you eat but about how many calories you eat. But if it were just about calories, you could eat only sugar and be fine. In fact, you’d die: sugar lacks essential nutrients.

That’s an obvious case. But although a calorie may be a calorie when people talk about weight loss and nothing else, there are other factors involved. And once you get past my perhaps lame “Is a calorie a calorie” question, you can begin to see something approaching the truth. For one thing, says Nestle: “There are dozens of factors involved in weight regulation. It’s hard to lose weight, because the body is set up to defend fat, so you don’t starve to death; the body doesn’t work as well to tell people to stop eating as when to tell them when to start.”

An important question, then, is really something like, “What can I eat to keep from putting on weight?” and here the answer turns out to be not only easy but also expected. “If you’re eating a lot of fruits and vegetables,” Nestle says, “you’re not taking in as many calories as you would if you were eating fast food and sodas.” Yes, that’s a calorie issue; the latter group is way higher in calories than the former. But though there’s a difference between eat less and eating better, “eating better makes it much easier to eat less.” http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/03/20/is-a-calorie-a-calorie/

ETA: For those who are interested: this Is Mark Bittman's column.