Calculations of energy value

based on proximate principles

• Food that is ingested contains energy - the maximum
amount being reflected in the form of heat that is
measured after complete combustion to carbon
dioxide (CO2) and water in a bomb calorimeter. –
called ingested energy (IE) or gross energy (GE).
• Incomplete digestion of food in the small intestine,
in some cases accompanied by fermentation of
unabsorbed carbohydrate in the colon, results in
losses of energy as fecal energy (FE) and so-called
gaseous energy (GaE) in the form of combustible
gases (e.g. hydrogen and methane).
• Short-chain (volatile) fatty acids are also formed in
the process, some of which are absorbed and
available as energy.
• Most of the energy that is absorbed is available to
human metabolism, but some is lost as urinary
energy (UE), mainly in the form of nitrogenous
waste compounds derived from incomplete
catabolism of protein.
• A small amount of energy is also lost from the
body surface (surface energy [SE]). The energy that
remains after accounting for the important losses
is known as “metabolizable energy” (ME)
• Not all metabolizable energy is available for
the production of ATP.
• Some energy is utilized during the metabolic
processes associated with digestion,
absorption and intermediary metabolism of
food and can be measured as heat production;
this is referred to as dietary-induced
thermogenesis (DIT), or thermic effect of food,
and varies with the type of food ingested.
• This can be considered as an obligatory energy
expenditure and, theoretically, it can be related
to the energy factors assigned to foods.
• When the energy lost to microbial fermentation
and obligatory thermogenesis are subtracted
from ME, the result is an expression of the
energy content of food, which is referred to as
net metabolizable energy (NME).
• Laboratories use bomb calorimeters to
measure the total or gross energy value
of various food macronutrients.

Bomb calorimeters operate on the principle

of direct calorimetry, measuring the heat
liberated as the food burns completely.
© 2008 Thomson - Wadsworth
 Instrumental methods to
calculate caloric value of food
Bomb Calorimeter
 COEFFICIENT OF DIGESTIBILITY
• The efficiency of the digestive process influences the
ultimate energy yield from the food macronutrients.
• Numerically defined as the coefficient of digestibility,
digestive efficiency indicates the percentage of ingested
food actually digested and absorbed to meet the body’s
metabolic needs.
• The food remaining unabsorbed in the intestinal tract is
voided in the feces.
• Dietary fiber reduces the coefficient of
digestibility; a high-fiber meal has less total
energy absorbed than does a fiber-free meal
of equivalent caloric content. This variance
occurs because fiber moves food through the
intestine more rapidly, reducing time for
absorption.
• Fiber also may cause mechanical erosion of
the intestinal mucosa, which is then re
synthesized through energy requiring
processes.
 Total digestibility
• The relative percentage of the macronutrients
digested and absorbed averages 97% for
carbohydrate,95% for lipid, and 92% for protein.
Little difference exists in digestive efficiency
between obese and lean individuals.
• However, considerable variability exists in
efficiency percentages for any food within a
particular category.
 Atwater general factors
• One can round the average net energy values to whole
numbers referred to as Atwater general factors.
• These values, named for Wilbur Olin Atwater (1844–
1907),the 19th-century chemist who pioneered human
nutrition and energy balance studies at Wesleyan College,
indicate the net metabolizable energy available to the body
from ingested foods.
• If precise energy values for experimental or therapeutic
diets are not required, the Atwater general factors provide
a good estimate of the energy content of the daily diet.
 DETERMINING A FOOD’S MACRONUTRIENT COMPOSITION
AND ENERGY CONTRIBUTION

• Food labels must indicate a food’s macronutrient

content (g)and total calories (kcal).
• Knowing the energy value per gram for carbohydrate,
lipid, and protein in a food allows one to readily
compute the percentage kcal derived from each
macronutrient.
• The net energy value, referred to as Atwater general
factors, equals 4 kcal for carbohydrate, 9 kcal for
lipid, and 4 kcal for protein.