Calories provide your body with the essential energy to function, powering everything from breathing to physical activity, and can also be used for growth and repair.
They are a unit of measurement for the energy in foods, with carbohydrates, proteins and fats being major sources of this energy.
The benefits are realised when foods are consumed in a balanced manner to meet the body's needs; consuming too much can lead to weight gain, while too few can result in weight loss.
Benefits
Energy: Calories are the fuel your body needs to perform all its functions, from basic metabolic processes such as maintaining body temperature to more complex activities such as running or even sleeping.
Growth, repair: The energy from calories is also used to build and repair tissues, which is essential for growth and recovery from physical activity.
Body temperature: A portion of the energy from calories is used to keep your body's core temperature stable, which is a crucial metabolic process for survival.
Body weight: Consuming the appropriate amount of calories required by the body helps to maintain a stable body weight.
Immediate energy: Your body uses a significant portion of the energy from calories to meet its immediate demands.
Stored energy: Any extra energy not used immediately is stored as fat. This stored fat serves as a reserve that the body can tap into when you consume fewer calories than you burn.
Daily calorie intake for the average person is: 2,500 kilocalorie for men and 2,000 kcal for women.
Why balanced intake is crucial
Healthy weight management: To maintain your current weight, your daily calorie intake should match your body's energy expenditure.
For weight loss: To lose weight, you need to consume fewer calories than you use, causing your body to burn its stored fat for energy.
For weight gain: To gain weight, you need to consume more calories than your body uses, leading to the storage of extra energy as fat.
Focus on nutrient-dense calories: To ensure overall health, it is important to choose calories from nutrient-rich foods that provide essential vitamins and minerals, rather than "empty calories" from foods such as sugary drinks.
What happens if we don't build calories?
Reducing calorie intake can help you lose weight, improve heart health, reduce risk factors for chronic diseases, and may also slow ageing.
It can lead to malnutrition and other health problems. Healthy weight loss may include limiting food portions, burning calories and other methods.
Walking 10,000 steps burns approximately 250 to 600 calories, with the exact amount depending on your weight, stride length, and walking speed.
While it is a good estimate, tools such as smartwatches or activity trackers can provide a more personalised estimate by considering these personal factors and your activity intensity.
High-calorie foods
Milk and other dairy products such as yoghurt, butter, cheese, etc., are also rich in calories and fat. One hundred millilitres of whole milk contains up to 65 calories of energy.
Butter (100grams) can offer up to 717calories of energy. A cube of 100 grams of cheddar cheese can be equivalent to 402 calories of energy.
The writer is a medical/science writer.
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