Check Before You Buy: Calorie Amounts in Nutrition Labels

Know why it is important to look at calories before purchasing.

By: Denisse Shawntel Tan | November 11, 2017

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Calories are more important than you think!

“Calories” is a familiar word in food nutrition labels, but what it actually is might be unclear to some, and sometimes, vague ideas that calories are bad also abound. There is an importance in understanding calories, because they play a huge factor in one’s health.

What are calories? Calories are vital units of heat energy. They fuel the body the same way cars are fueled by gasoline. Calories come from the food consumed, as they also refer to the amount of energy stored in foods. However, energy and calorie amounts vary depending on what is eaten; this is why different foods have different numbers of calories.

There are three main sources of calories that contain different amounts of energy per gram:

Fats have the highest concentration of calories. There are nine calories per gram of pure fat.
Carbohydrates contain four calories per gram of pure carbohydrate.
Proteins have about four calories per gram of pure protein.

There is also a general reference for calories in a single serving of food. Low-calorie food contains 40 calories or less. Moderate-calorie ones at least have 100 calories while high-calorie foods have 400 or more.

Checking the calorie section of a label can help consumers manage the recommended calorie intake for nutrients. Most foodstuffs include a calorie label or nutrition facts panel on their packages. The label indicates the number of calories per serving along with the portion size per serving, so the servings one consumes determines the amount of calories taken (portion amount).

For example, if a bag of potato chips is said to have about 270 calories, and there are 27 chips, this means that each chip has about 10 calories.

Another example: if the food label indicates that the item contains 250 calories per serving, and the calories from fat are listed at 110, then more than half of the calories came from fat. If the package has two servings and a person consumes it whole, then the total number of calories would double. This shows that serving size is important in calculating calories.

The function and importance of calories in the body

In general, the amount of calories people take in, as well as its source, can make an impact on their overall health since calories have the following functions in the body:

Supplies energy to bodies

Calories provide energy for humans to do their everyday routine, as well as to maintain basic life support functions such as breathing, repairing cells, circulating blood, and other bodily functions. Energy is even needed while at rest. Having enough food ensures that the body has efficient energy to function and develop properly.

As people consume food, their digestive system undergoes metabolism, the process by which the body converts the calories from food into energy. Metabolism and needed calories are determined by factors such as gender, age, and physical activity habits.

Contributes to weight maintenance

The amount of calories taken in is one of the factors that determine if a person gains, loses, or maintains weight. Consuming the correct amount of calories per day maintains weight, while having too much calorie consumption can lead to weight gain.

Checking a food’s nutrition label can help determine how many calories one is taking in per day.

How many calories does a person need?

The answer varies depending on factors such as age, gender, height, weight, and physical activities. There are online calorie calculators that can help; however, these calculators might not always be accurate.

In relation to this question, it is important to know one’s basal metabolic rate (BMR). BMR is the amount of calories a person burns when he or she is not doing anything, without having to eat for the last 12 hours. Basically it is the minimum calories the body needs to keep the organs running. There are online BMR calculators available.

However, BMR is just an estimation and may not be accurate for everyone. The BMR estimates also do not consider the amount of body fats or muscles of a person.

After finding out the BMR, the next step is to figure out the Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE). It is the amount of extra calories people use every day based on their physical activities. There are online calculators for this as well. These can help a person determine the number of calories he or she needs.

How many calories does a food usually have?

While the nutrition facts label can inform one of the calories of specific food items, it also helps to know the basic calorie amount of basic food items people consume every day.

A pepperoni regular crust pizza slice has about 298 calories.
¼ cup of peanuts contains about 200 calories.
A foot-long subway sandwich contains around 1,000 calories.
Half a cup of ice cream has about 145 calories.
One cup of milk has 122 calories.
One cup of spaghetti (cooked, without salt) contains 221 calories, while half a cup of spaghetti sauce contains 92 calories.
A scrambled egg has 102 calories.
One slice of cheddar cheese contains 113 calories.
One regular brewed black coffee has two calories.
A slice of bread has 66 calories.
One cup and a half of beer has 153 calories.
One graham cracker has 59 calories.
One tablespoon of ketchup contains 15 calories.
Two tablespoons of peanut butter has 180 calories.

About Denisse Shawntel Tan

Denisse Tan is currently a work in progress: she’s an aspiring writer, artist, and fashion designer! She’s trying to figure out how to manage her time in achieving all of her goals while also taking in life as humanly possible. Aside from art, she’s a big fan of the color pink, disco music, Bratz dolls, and Genshin Impact. By age 35, she plans to travel to New York City 🗽.

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