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FiguringOutFatandCalories

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FiguringOutFatandCalories
Fromallyouhear,you'dthinkfatandcaloriesarereallybadforyou.It'struethatmanypeopleare
eatingmorefatandcaloriesthantheyneed.Butweallrequireacertainamountoffatandcalories
inourdietstofuelourgrowthandactivitieseverythingfromsolvingamathproblemtoracing
upanddownthesoccerfield.Sowhat'sthetruthonfatandcalories?

WhatAreFatandCalories?
Fats,orlipids,arenutrientsinfoodthatthebodyusestobuildcellmembranes,nervetissue(like
thebrain),andhormones.Thebodyalsousesfatasfuel.Iffatsthatapersonhaseatenaren't
burnedasenergyorusedasbuildingblocks,theyarestoredbythebodyinfatcells.Thisisthe
body'swayofthinkingahead:Bysavingfatforfutureuse,itplansfortimeswhenfoodmightbe
scarce.

Doyoureadfoodlabelsor
lookupnutrition
informationonline?
Mostofthetime
Sometimes
Rarelyornotatall

Vote
ViewResults
Acalorieisaunitofenergythatmeasureshowmuchenergyfoodprovidestothebody.Thebody
needscaloriestofunctionproperly.

FoodLabels:Calories
Foodlabelslistcaloriesbytheamountineachservingsize.Servingsizesdifferfromonefoodto
thenext,sotofigureouthowmanycaloriesyou'reeating,you'llneedtodothreethings:
1.Lookattheservingsize.
2.Seehowmanycaloriesthereareinoneserving.
3.Multiplythenumberofcaloriesbythenumberofservingsyou'regoingtoeat.

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FiguringOutFatandCalories

Forexample,abagofcookiesmaylistthreecookiesasaservingsize.Butifyoueatsixcookies,you
arereallyeatingtwoservings,notone.Tofigureouthowmanycaloriesthosetwoservings
contain,youmustdoublethecaloriesinoneserving.
Whenyoustartlookingatfoodlabels,youmaybesurprisedatsomeoftheservingsizes.For
example,onthelabelsofsixcoldbreakfastcereals,theservingsizerangesfromcupto1
cups.Youwouldhavetomorethantriplethesmallestservingsizetocomparethecaloriesinthat
cerealwiththecaloriesinthecerealwiththelargestservingsize(1cups).Asmallbagofcorn
chipsmaycontaintwoormoreservingsalthoughmostpeoplewouldeattheentirebag!That's
whyit'salwaysimportanttochecktheservingsizeofallfoodsonthelabel.

FoodLabels:Fat
Whenitcomestofat,labelscansaymanythings.Lowfat,reducedfat,light(orlite),andfatfree
arecommontermsyou'resuretoseeonfoodpackages.TheU.S.governmenthasstrictrules
abouttheuseofthesephrases:Bylaw,fatfreefoodscancontainnomorethan0.5gramsoffat
perserving.Lowfatfoodsmaycontain3gramsoffatorlessperserving.Foodsmarkedreduced
fatandlight(lite)arealittletrickier,andyoumayneedtodosomesupermarketsleuthing.
Light(lite)andreducedfatfoodsmaystillbehighinfat.Therequirementforafoodtobelabeled
light(lite)isthatitmustcontain50%lessfatoronethirdfewercaloriesperservingthanthe
regularversionofthatfood.Foodslabeledreducedfatmustcontain25%lessfatperservingthan
theregularversion.Butiftheregularversionofaparticularfoodwashighinfattobeginwith,a
25%to50%reductionmaynotlowerthefatcontentenoughtomakeitasmartsnackingchoice.
Forexample,theoriginalversionofabrandofpeanutbuttercontains17gramsoffatandthe
reducedfatversioncontains12grams.That'sstillalotoffat!
It'shelpfultoknowhowmanyofthecaloriesyou'regettingcomefromfat.The2010U.S.dietary
guidelinesrecommendthatchildrenandteensages418getbetween25%to35%oftheirdaily
caloriesfromfat.Butfoodlabelsdon'talwaysshowthepercentageoffatinafood.Itiseasyto
calculate,though.Dividethenumberofcaloriesfromfatbythenumberoftotalcaloriesand
multiplyby100:

Forexample,ifa300caloriefoodhas60caloriesfromfat,youdivide60by300andthen
multiplyby100.Theresultshowsthatfoodgets20%ofitscaloriesfromfat:

4,4,and...9?
Thecaloriesinfoodcomefromcarbohydrates,proteins,andfats.Agramofcarbohydrate
contains4calories.Agramofproteinalsocontains4calories.Agramoffat,though,contains9
caloriesmorethantwicetheamountoftheothertwo.
That'swhyonefoodwiththesameservingsizeasanothermayhavefarmorecalories.Ahighfat
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FiguringOutFatandCalories

foodhasmanymorecaloriesthanafoodthat'slowinfatandhigherinproteinorcarbohydrates.
Forinstance,acupservingofvanillaicecreamcontains:
178totalcalories
2gramsofprotein(2gramstimes4calories=8caloriesfromprotein)
12gramsoffat(12gramstimes9calories=108calories,or61%,fromfat)
15.5gramsofcarbohydrate(15.5gramstimes4calories=62caloriesfromcarbohydrate)
Comparethiswiththesameservingsize(cup)ofcookedcarrots:
36totalcalories
1gramofprotein(1gramtimes4calories=4caloriesfromprotein)
0gramsoffat(0gramstimes0calories=0caloriesfromfat)
8gramsofcarbohydrate(8gramstimes4calories=32caloriesfromcarbohydrate)
Sofatmakesquiteadifferencewhenitcomestototalcaloriesinafood.
Butlet'sfaceit,who'sgoingtochooseaheapingbowlofcookedcarrotsovericecreamonahot
summerday?Itallcomesdowntomakingsensiblefoodchoicesmostofthetime.Thegoalisto
maketradeoffsthatbalanceahigherfatfoodwithfoodsthatarelowerinfattokeepthefatintake
atabout30%fortheday.Soifyoureallywantthaticecream,it'sOKonceinawhileaslongas
youworkinsomelowerfatfoods,likecarrots,thatday.

NotAllFatsAretheSame
Althoughalltypesoffathavethesameamountofcalories,somearemoreharmfultoyourhealth
thanothers.Twoofthemostharmfulfatsaresaturatedfatandtransfat.Bothofthesefatscan
increaseaperson'sriskofheartdisease.Foodlabelsshowtheamountsofsaturatedfatsandtrans
fatsinaparticularfood.
Saturatedandtransfatsaresolidatroomtemperaturelikebutter,shortening,orthefaton
meat.Saturatedfatcomesmostlyfromanimalproducts,butsometropicaloils,likepalmkernel
oilandcoconutoil,alsocontainsaturatedfat.Smallamountsofnaturallyoccurringtransfatare
alsofoundinwholedairyandmeatproducts.
Transfatsareoftenfoundinpackagedbakedgoods,likecookiesorcrackers.Theyalsomaybe
foundinfriedfoodslikefrenchfriesanddoughnuts.Becausesaturatedfatandtransfatraise
bloodcholesterollevels,increasingaperson'sriskofdevelopingheartdisease,agramofoneof
thesefatsisworseforaperson'shealththanagramofunsaturatedfat.
Oneofthemostcommonsourcesoftransfatintoday'sfoodsispartiallyhydrogenatedvegetable
oil.Hydrogenationisaprocessthatchangesliquidoilsintoasolidformoffatbyaddinghydrogen.
Thisprocessallowsthesefatstokeepforalongtimewithoutlosingtheirflavororgoingbad.
Unsaturatedfatsareliquidatroomtemperature.Unsaturatedfatscanbepolyunsaturatedor
monounsaturated.Polyunsaturatedfatisfoundinsoybean,corn,sesameandsunfloweroils,
orfishandfishoil.Monounsaturatedfatisfoundinolives,oliveoilorcanolaoil,mostnuts
andtheiroils,andavocados.
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FiguringOutFatandCalories

FatandCaloriesinaHealthyDiet
Fatsshouldbeeateninmoderation.TheAmericanHeartAssociationrecommendsthatpeopleget
asmuchoftheirdailyfatintakeaspossiblefromunsaturatedfatsandthattheylimitsaturatedfats
andtransfats.
It'sabadideatotrytoavoidfatcompletely,though,especiallyforteens.Acertainamountoffatis
necessaryfordevelopment,especiallyduringpubertywhenthebodygrowsveryquickly.
Fatsarealsoneededtoabsorbcertainvitaminsthatareessentialforpropergrowth.VitaminsA,
D,E,andKarefatsoluble,meaningtheycanonlybeabsorbedifthereisfatinaperson'sdiet.
Also,bodyfatcellsactasinsulationtokeepthebodywarmandhelpprotectandcushioninternal
organs.
Likefat,youneedacertainamountofcaloriesinyourdiettofuelyourbody.Infact,nutritionists
donotrecommendcaloriecounting(keepingtrackofthenumberofcaloriesineverythingthatyou
eat)forteensunlessadoctorhasspecificallyrecommendedit.Soifyouareconcernedaboutyour
weight,speaktoyourdoctor.
Maintainingahealthyweightmeanschoosingavarietyoffoodsthatarelowinfat(especially
saturatedandtransfats)andaddedsugars.Thinkaboutsubstitutesforfoodsthathavealotof
sugar,fat,orcalories.Forexample,youmaywanttodrinkwaterorskimmilkinsteadofsoft
drinks,orchoosemustardinsteadofmayonnaiseonyoursandwich.
Beingawareoftheamountoffatandcaloriesyoueatmakessense,aslongasyoueatabalanced
diet.Establishingsensibleeatinghabits,choosingfoodswisely,andexercisingregularlyarethe
keystolongtermgoodhealth.
Reviewedby:MaryL.Gavin,MD
Datereviewed:October2014

Note:AllinformationonTeensHealthisforeducationalpurposesonly.For
specificmedicaladvice,diagnoses,andtreatment,consultyourdoctor.
19952016TheNemoursFoundation.Allrightsreserved.
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