Quick facts about calories

• A small calorie is technically the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of one gram of water by one degree Celsius.
• The large calorie, kilogram calorie or food calorie approximates the energy needed to increase the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 °C. This is exactly 1000 small calories.
• A calorie comes from 3 nutrients: carbohydrates, fats and proteins.
• Each gram of fat contains 9 calories.
• Carbohydrates and protein contain four calories per gram.
• Water, vitamins and minerals are all calorie-free.
• Etymology: French calorie, from Latin calor meaning "heat".
• Each pound of body fat stores roughly 3500 calories.
• Calories can help us lose weight if we burn more calories than we take in.
• One athlete typically consumes upwards of 7000 calories a day.
• A Whopper contains 660 calories and 40 grams of fat.
• You burn more calories sleeping than watching television.