Kj equals how many calories

Just as there are one thousand joules J in a kilojoule kJ , there are one thousand calories cal in a kilocalorie kcal. This is why some health tools seem to offer wildly different results, depending on whether or not the users are expecting to see kilocalories. Trying to convert 1, calories with one of those converters gives you the result 5 kilojoules, which is obviously wrong 5kJ is what is in one third of a gram of Weet-Bix.

To make things even more confusing, when most people talk about calories, they really mean kilocalories! That is, kcal or Cal rather than cal. The formula to change kilojoules to calories is quite simple. Since one Cal is equal to 4. Dividing by 4. At Calorie Counter Australia, we insist on using the more precise 4. Most of our energy comes from the macronutrients macros , namely carbohydrates including sugar , fat, and protein in food we eat.

Each of these macros contain the same type of energy, but in different quantities. Protein provides 4 calories per gram, same as carbs which give 4 per gram, whilst fat releases 9 kcal per gram.

Having covered the difference between kilojoules and calories, and figured out how to swap them, we can answer the question: does it matter which one we use? In theory, since both are standard units which measure energy, it ultimately should not matter. The most important aspect of both kilojoules and calories is that we can use either to record and compare what we consume or plan to consume at any given time.

Your choice will probably come down to these factors:. All physical nutrition labels in Australia list energy in kJ, and some list both kilojoules and Calories. Most digital English language resources list energy in Calories, and some list both. If you get most of your food health information from physical labels, the kJ seems to be the way to go.

If you get most of your nutrition information from digital sources, then kcal probably works better. How easy is it for you to use the label to understand how much energy there is in each food? Can you mentally or electronically with the aid of a digital app use the label effectively, on a day-to-day basis?

Energy as kilojoules Kilojoules in food Our energy requirements vary Where to get help. Energy as kilojoules In Australia, we use kilojoules kJ to measure how much energy people get from consuming a food or drink.

Food energy used to be measured in Calories Cal and some countries still use those units. It can be hard to tell how many kilojoules are in each food just by looking, but in general: Fats and alcohol are high in kilojoules. Protein and carbohydrates provide moderate amounts of kilojoules. Dietary fibre is low in kilojoules. Water provides no kilojoules energy. Foods such as fruits, vegetables and legumes are less energy-dense foods lower in kilojoules.

Foods that are high in fats, added sugars or alcohol are by far the most energy-dense foods highest in kilojoules. Our energy requirements vary Your energy kJ needs each day and how much energy you burn vary and depend on: how active you are in your daily activities the amount and type of exercise you do your height and weight your sex — men generally have higher energy requirements than women, because they have more muscle tissue your body composition — muscle tissue has a big appetite for kilojoules.

The more muscle mass you have, the more kilojoules you will burn if you are pregnant or breastfeeding genetics and your health status your age — young children and teens need high amounts of energy to fuel growth. As we age, activity levels are often reduced, which causes a loss of muscle tissue, and so our energy requirements tend to decrease. Balancing energy in and out, Nutrition Australia. Give feedback about this page. Was this page helpful?

Yes No. If somebody is talking about how a certain meal is calories, they actually mean it is kilocalories. In terms of definition, a calorie was originally defined as the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one litre of water from 0 degrees to 1 degree Celsius. This definition was later changed to be compared to joules instead, which are a unit that is more commonly used by scientists to describe the amount of work needed to force one newton through one meter. This conversion is that 1 calorie not kilocalorie equals 4.

And 1 joule equals 0. This therefore means that to convert kcal into kilojoules, you would multiply kcal by 4. This would make it 8,kj. If you had 10,kj and wanted to figure out how many calories it is, you would just divide by 4.

This would make it 2,kcal.