4. Calories

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You get energy from the food you eat

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The energy in food is measured in calories

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Vocabulary:

calories

The unit of measurement of energy in food

Some foods have more calories than others

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A tomato has about 25 calories whereas a cup of ice cream has about

275 calories

You could eat 11 tomatoes to equal the number of calories in a cup of ice

cream

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Your body uses calories for all its activities

Every time your hand moves or your heart beats, some calories are used

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What happens if your body does not use all the calories in the food you

eat?

The unused calories are stored as fat

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The fat builds up in your body to make “love handles”

How many calories you need depends upon the amount of energy your body

needs

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If you are active, then your body needs lots of energy

The calories you take in will be used up

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You can eat a lot without getting fat

If you are not very active, your body needs less energy

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If you eat a lot, all the calories in your food may not get used up

Your body will store the calories as fat

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Then your weight will spiral up and your body will seem “fluffy”

There are 2 things you can do to lose extra fat

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You can exercise to use more caloriesor

cut down on high-calories foods

If your body has fewer calories to use then it will have to use up the stored fat

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Using both methods are the best way to lose weight

Whether you need to lose weight or not, stay away from empty calories

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Empty calories are found in foods that are high in calories but low in

vitamins and minerals

Candy, soft drinks, and other “junk” foods are empty-calorie foods

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