It is common for many people to get confused about the terms of calories and kilocalories. So what are the differences between calories and kilocalories? We reveal them to you in this article.
Surely on many occasions you have wondered the differences between calories and kilocalories, when in reality we usually think that both data represent the same thing.
Not surprisingly, it tends to be very common for many people to get confused, and even for many media to write about calories when in fact they are referring to kilocalories.
The truth is that both are measures of energy in food. As you know, the human body needs calories (energy) to be able to carry out the different basic functions that we perform every day
As we learned in our note dedicated to the daily calories needed, depending on the sex of the person, their weight and physical activity, they will need to consume a certain number of calories each day. So when that calorie intake is greater than burns, weight gain occurs.
Differences between calories and kilocalories
- Calories: they are also known by the name of small calories. They are the amount of energy it takes to raise the temperature of one gram of water to one degree centigrade (ºC).
- Kilocalories: also known as large calories, it is the official measure to measure the energy that food contributes to the body, which before entering the body are expressed in KiloJoules (kJ). In this sense, one kilocalorie is equivalent to 4185 kJ.
Therefore, as we can see, the correct thing is to always use the term kilocalories, although it is common for these to be found under the wrong abbreviation (calories).
