Calories and Weight Gain

Appears in
Professional Baking
Professional Baking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2008

  • About

The calorie (or, more correctly, the kilocalorie; see sidebar) is a unit of measurement of energy. It is defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1°C.

The calorie is used to measure how much certain foods supply for the energy the body needs to function. Carbohydrates, proteins, and fats can be used by the body to supply energy.
1 gram of carbohydrate supplies 4 calories
1 gram of protein supplies 4 calories
1 gram of fat supplies 9 calories

There is a direct connection between calorie intake, physical activity, and weight gain or loss. Simply put, if you consume more calories than you burn, you gain weight. If you consume fewer calories than you burn, you lose weight. All the diet schemes and fashions in the world—at least the ones that are medically sound—can be reduced to this. In other words, losing weight is possible only by eating fewer calories, burning more calories through exercise, or both.