cal vs kcal - let's make it clear finaly

pilvi3
pilvi3 Posts: 200
in Food and Nutrition
Hello!
Some obviously use unit cal, and others kcal for the same think.

At the beginning it was extremely confuseing for me.

Now I would like to make it more clear: who uses cals and who uses kcals?

I suppose in USA they use cal.

Everything I buy has enery values in kcals.
But , as far as I know, 1 g protein gives 4 calories, and not 4 kcals.

Replies

  • keefmac
    keefmac Posts: 313 Member
    I'm interested in this as well, in the UK everything is listed as kcal. I would assume that's kilo calories (calories x 1000) but that can't be right?. Ie 2000,000 calories is 2000 kcals?.
  • neanderthin
    neanderthin Posts: 10,206 Member
    Same same but different........you say potato I say
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    It's the same thing, although technically in the US we use the wrong measure (because 1000 calories should really be 1 kcal).
  • pilvi3
    pilvi3 Posts: 200
    Do they in USA use cal or kcal?
  • TechNerd42
    TechNerd42 Posts: 225 Member
    In the US, the label says cal, but it means kcal - they dropped the kilo designation, but the value is still the same, because someone somewhere decided that a kcal, is a "food calorie" and then they just started calling them calories.

    So, same thing, different label. :) If you are in the US, some stores with imported items have the original and US labels, so you can compare. (just check the serving size if you do, sometimes they adjust that so the kcal and cal numbers will be a little off. :)
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    Kilocalories is the official unit being discussed - a caloire is technically a thousandths of a kilocalorie, so that's 4000 calories per gram of protein.

    They are also referred to as 'small calorie' and 'large calorie'.

    I'd just accept they mean the same thing in 99.8% of cases and move on :).

    (If your burger either has the same calorie levels as a glass of water, or your entire food consumption for the year, it's probably the other one!)
  • TechNerd42
    TechNerd42 Posts: 225 Member
    Brighten your Sunday with some Physics: http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/humeng.html :)
  • pilvi3
    pilvi3 Posts: 200
    4000 calories or 4 calories per 1 g protein?

    http://www.nutristrategy.com/nutrition/calories.htm
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    Do they in USA use cal or kcal?

    We in the USA use "kcal", but we abbreviate it as "Cal" (big "C" indicates it's the kcal we speak of). But, we can be lazy talkers sometimes, and just spell out cal, or calories. We still mean kcal.
  • keefmac
    keefmac Posts: 313 Member
    1kcal = "the energy needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water through 1 °C, equal to one thousand small calories and often used to measure the energy value of foods".

    Yep, 1kcal is actually 1000 "normal" calories, they've used that presumably to make it easier to read on food packaging etc.

    I remember years ago at school burning a peanut to warm water up in a test tube!.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    4000 calories or 4 calories per 1 g protein?

    http://www.nutristrategy.com/nutrition/calories.htm
    As above. 4000 calories.

    Or 4 kilocalories/4kc.

    Or, possible 4000 Calories, with a big 'C'.

    But a lot of people will still just write/say '4 calories' because most people know what they mean.
  • pilvi3
    pilvi3 Posts: 200
    Hi!
    U possibly ment 4 C, not 4000 C;)

    Huh...
  • stealthq
    stealthq Posts: 4,298 Member
    Do they in USA use cal or kcal?

    We in the USA use "kcal", but we abbreviate it as "Cal" (big "C" indicates it's the kcal we speak of). But, we can be lazy talkers sometimes, and just spell out cal, or calories. We still mean kcal.

    Yep. In the scientific community, you'll get crap for forgetting to capitalize if your intent is kcal, but layman generally don't realize that there's a difference between capitalized and not. Then the rest of us get lazy, too.

    When I started here, I was very careful to capitalize or use kcal all the time. Some initial posts confused me until I realized I was the only one who bothered - and was probably one of a minority who realized it was even an issue. And eventually, I just quit caring about it, and joined in with everyone else.
  • michikade
    michikade Posts: 313 Member
    When we're discussing food and exercise expenditure, we're dupis using kilocalories. In the US, our food is labeled Calorie (with a capital c) and it is the other abbreviation for kilocalorie.

    There is a level of laziness and/or ignorance in regards to this, but whether you say kilocalorie, kcal, Calorie or calorie, if you're discussing food and exercise, you're discussing kilocalories.

    For all intents and purposes, here in this forum, it's interchangeable (even though in reality it shouldn't be).
  • pilvi3
    pilvi3 Posts: 200
    So, final conclusion:

    1g protein = 4 kcal
    = 4 KC
    = 4 Cal
    =4 C
    = 4000 calories

    Right???
  • Mr_Knight
    Mr_Knight Posts: 9,532 Member
    Do they in USA use cal or kcal?

    Both.

    US (and Canada) uses "kcal" but they call it "calories".
  • pilvi3
    pilvi3 Posts: 200
    Amen:smile:
  • williams969
    williams969 Posts: 2,528 Member
    So, final conclusion:

    1g protein = 4 kcal
    = 4 KC
    = 4 Cal
    =4 C
    = 4000 calories

    Right???

    Correct :drinker:

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