In this blog we are going to tell you about Difference between kcal and cal, so read this blog carefully to get the complete information.
Introduction
Often people have to go through comparing the nutritional values of food items in supermarkets. It might be possible that the nutritional labels in the foreign country look different from the country you belong to. People have to face this situation as the majority of them cannot differentiate between calories and kilocalories.
What is kcal?
A kilocalorie (kcal) is the total amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius at one atmosphere of pressure. The metric equivalent of the kilocalorie is the kilojoule and there are 4.184 kilojoules (kj) in 1 kilocalorie. It is usually placed on food labels as a measure of the energy content of a particular type of food. Some countries record kilojoules instead of Calories on their food labels.
A kilocalorie is equal to 1000 calories. People are concerned with Calories because if more dietary calories are consumed then they can end up gaining more weight.
What is cal?
A calorie (cal) is the total amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one gram of water by 1 degree Celsius at one atmosphere pressure. In other words, the calorie was defined as a way to measure energy by means of heat. We can say, the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of water is also referred to as the specific heat of water. 1000 calories make 1 kilocalorie thus to determine kilocalories, simply divide by 1000. We often see calories on food packages which actually refer to kilocalories.
Difference between kcal and cal
- Size – A kilocalorie (kcal) is 1000 times larger than a calorie and 1 kcal equals to 1000 calories.
- Energy – Kilocalorie is the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1 degree Celsius while calorie is the energy that is needed to increase the temperature of 1 g of water by 1 degree Celsius in one atmosphere.
- Food calorie – A kilocalorie is also referred to as the food or dietary calorie and is represented as Calorie. On the other hand, the traditional calorie is not usually used as a food or dietary calorie.
- Food labels – Some countries actually use kcal as food labels though it is called a Calorie.
- Metric equivalent – The metric equivalent of the calorie is the joule (4.184) and the metric equivalent for the kilocalorie is the kilojoule (also 4.184).
Summary
Both Kilocalorie and calorie are used as measures of energy and a kilocalorie can be converted to calorie by multiplying by 1000. There are 1000 calories in 1 kilocalorie. The calorie is generally used in the calculation of chemistry and physics but not useful for human diet and metabolic calculations because it is a small unit of energy. The fitness applications and the food journals mainly use the terms Kilocalorie and calorie almost everywhere. There is no need to convert one unit into another until the food labels have nutritional values printed in joules or kilojoules.
Conclusion
We Hope this blog is sufficient enough to provide the information about Difference between kcal and cal. Thanks for reading this blog.
Read: Difference between Pork and Bacon
Read: Difference between Cocktail and Mocktail
Read: Difference between Double Cheeseburger and McDouble
Read: Difference Between Cookies and Biscuits
Read: Difference Between Corona and Modelo
Read: Difference between Sea Salt and Himalayan Salt
Read: Difference between Roe and Caviar
Read: Differences between bok choy and napa cabbage – Know in detail
