kilocalories

leanne9876
leanne9876 Posts: 301 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was looking up some info about how many calories kids should eat and for a 2-3 year old girl it said 1000 kilocalories.
I looked up info to see if kilocalories are the same as calories and it said - 1000 kilocalories = 1 000 000 calories

Is that right ?

Replies

  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,431 MFP Moderator
    I would ask your pediatrician.
  • missdaisy79
    missdaisy79 Posts: 566 Member
    A quick google search gives me this:

    In scientific terms:
    1000 calories = 1 kilocalorie = 1 kcal = the energy it takes to raise the temperature of 1kg of water by 1°C.

    In nutrition terms:
    ie. What you'll find on food packaging, calories = kilocalories and are used interchangeably.

    In some instances food energy is measured in kilojoules - mostly by the scientific community - though some food packaging also gives kilojoule (kJ) values. 1 kilocalorie = 4.2 kilojoules.
  • david_swinstead
    david_swinstead Posts: 271 Member
    Yes a kilocalorie is 1000 calories, but these terms are most often (incorrectly) used interchangeably.

    When we talk about calories, what we really mean is kilocalories, but people just say calories instead.

    The figure of 1000 kilocalories is, in conversational terms, the same as 1000 calories.
  • meriannna
    meriannna Posts: 1 Member
    if you saw a label with "kcal"
    it's just calories0 labeled differently :)
    I used to think my japanese snacks were 200,000 calories.. but then again I'd be much heavier if that was the case
  • LaserMum
    LaserMum Posts: 133
    A calorie is an actual measurement of energy and it is right that 1 kcal = 1000 cal.

    However, people invariably refer to kcal as calories. If you check on any food item you will find that the energy content of the food is listed in kJ (kilo Joules) and kcal (kilocalories).

    For instance, my Go Ahead Crispy Slice packet says that one slice has 50kcal. I'm pretty certain that it doesn't contain what would normally be referred to as 50000 calories. We'd normally say it has 50 calories but to be correct scientifically we should say it has 50 kilocalories.

    Hope this doesn't confuse you too much!!! :flowerforyou:
  • Darrelkun
    Darrelkun Posts: 152 Member
    Yes, that is correct.

    What we eat are kilocalories. It is shortened to calories for some reason in our daily conversation and food labels.
  • Hannah_Hopes
    Hannah_Hopes Posts: 273 Member
    Yes, that is correct.

    What we eat are kilocalories. It is shortened to calories for some reason in our daily conversation and food labels.

    This, on packaging it will most likely say kcal but we just say calories
  • leanne9876
    leanne9876 Posts: 301 Member
    Thank you :) So my 3 year old daughter should have approx 1000 calories a day
  • kirkor
    kirkor Posts: 2,530 Member
    PLEASE don't calorie-count for your 3-year-old!
  • chandanista
    chandanista Posts: 986 Member
    PLEASE don't calorie-count for your 3-year-old!

    This this this!!


    If you are concerned she isn't eating enough, then yes try feeding her higher calorie, nutritionally dense food. But please don't put her on a diet. Kids have amazing resiliency and simple changes in daily activity combined with growth spurts will do wonders!

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