Curious About Calories

PODCAST 228: CURIOUS ABOUT CALORIES

RELEASE DATE: SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 12TH, 2023

D:  HELLO, AND WELCOME BACK TO THE CURIOUS KID PODCAST.  WE ARE A FEW WEEKS INTO THE NEW YEAR, AND WHEN A NEW YEAR APPROACHES, MANY PEOPLE MAKE NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS.  A NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTION IS WHEN SOMEONE DECIDES THAT THEY ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING IN THE NEW YEAR.  SOMEONE MIGHT RESOLVE TO ACCOMPLISH A GOAL, OR MAYBE STOP A BAD BEHAVIOR OR HABIT, OR MAYBE JUST KEEP DOING GOOD.  TWO OF THE MOST COMMON NEW YEAR’S RESOLUTIONS PEOPLE HAVE ARE TO EXERCISE MORE AND TO EAT HEALTHIER.  I, MYSELF, HAVE RESOLVED TO EXERCISE MORE AND EAT HEALTHIER THIS YEAR, AND I’M OFF TO A PRETTY GOOD START, JUST SIX WEEKS INTO THE YEAR.  WHEN PEOPLE TRY TO EAT HEALTHIER, THEY OFTEN CONSIDER CALORIES, AND HOW MANY CALORIES DIFFERENT FOODS HAVE, OR EVEN HOW MANY CALORIES CAN BE BURNED BY DIFFERENT EXERCISES, BUT WHAT IS A CALORIE?  WE KNOW THAT FOODS HAVE CALORIES, BUT DO WE KNOW WHAT CALORIES ARE?  LET’S LEARN MORE!

O:  MAILBAG!

D:  MAILBAG!

“HI.  MY NAME IS NORAH.  I AM 5 YEARS OLD FROM SAINT JOHNS, FLORIDA.  MY BROTHER, BEN, AND MY SISTER, COLBIE, AND I LISTEN TO YOUR PODCAST ALMOST EVERY MORNING ON OUR WAY TO CAMP.  NORAH IS CURIOUS ABOUT CALORIES.  WHY ARE THEY IMPORTANT AND HOW DO THEY GIVE US ENERGY?  THANKS FOR THE GREAT PODCAST.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!”

O:  THANKS SO MUCH FOR THE AWESOME EMAIL.  WE CAN’T WAIT TO LEARN ALL ABOUT CALORIES FOR NORAH, BEN, AND COLBIE.

D:  AS WE WILL LEARN ABOUT MORE IN A MOMENT, YOU CAN BURN CALORIES BY EXERCISING.  SOME EXERCISES BURN MORE CALORIES THAN OTHERS.

O:  THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK IS, WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING EXERCISES BURNS THE MOST CALORIES IN 60 MINUTES - RIDING A BIKE LEISURELY, PLAYING A COMPETITIVE BASKETBALL GAME, PLAYING A COMPETITIVE SOCCER GAME, BOWLING, OR ROLLERSKATING?    

D:  OKAY, SO WHAT IS A CALORIE?  WHEN YOU WALK THROUGH A SUPERMARKET, AND YOU PICK UP A PACKAGE OF FOOD, YOU WILL ALMOST CERTAINLY SEE NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PACKAGE.  YOU MAY ALSO NOTICE THAT THERE IS ONE NUMBER THAT SEEMS TO APPEAR MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE OTHER NUMBERS ON THE LABEL, AND THAT IS THE NUMBER OF CALORIES IN THE FOOD.  GENERALLY, PEOPLE CONSIDER FOODS THAT HAVE MORE CALORIES TO BE LESS HEALTHY THAN FOODS WITH LESS CALORIES.  BUT, WHAT IS A CALORIE?

O:  A CALORIE IS A UNIT OF ENERGY.  THE SAME WAY THAT YOU CAN MEASURE TIME IN SECONDS, TEMPERATURE IN DEGREES FAHRENHEIT, OR VOLUME IN GALLONS, ENERGY CAN BE MEASURED IN CALORIES.  

D:  CALORIES ARE OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH FOOD, BUT ANYTHING THAT HAS ENERGY ALSO HAS CALORIES.  A GALLON OF GASOLINE, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS ABOUT 31 MILLION CALORIES.  THAT MEANS THAT GASOLINE HAS A TON OF POTENTIAL ENERGY.

O:  GET READY TO HEAR THE ACTUAL DEFINITION OF A CALORIE, BECAUSE IT SOUNDS PRETTY CONFUSING.  

D:  A CALORIE IS THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY NEEDED TO RAISE THE TEMPERATURE OF ONE GRAM OF WATER BY ONE DEGREE CELSIUS.  

O:  IT SOUNDS COMPLICATED, BUT JUST THINK OF IT THIS WAY.  IF YOU WANT TO RAISE THE TEMPERATURE OF WATER, THE WATER NEEDS TO BE HEATED UP.  THAT REQUIRES ENERGY FROM A HEAT SOURCE.

D:  SO AGAIN, IN THE CASE OF A CALORIE, IT’S THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY YOU NEED TO RAISE THE TEMPERATURE OF ONE GRAM OF WATER BY JUST ONE DEGREE CELSIUS.  

O:  AND, IT’S A GOOD THING THAT FOODS HAVE CALORIES, BECAUSE HUMANS NEED CALORIES TO SURVIVE.  

D:  WHEN IT COMES TO CALORIES IN FOOD, THE CALORIES RESULT IN POTENTIAL ENERGY WHEN CONSUMED.  IT’S POTENTIAL ENERGY BECAUSE IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO PROVIDE ENERGY TO THE HUMAN, BUT IT MAY NEVER REACH IT’S POTENTIAL.  IN OTHER WORDS, IF SOMEONE EATS A HUGE NUMBER OF CALORIES AND THAT PERSON ISN’T ACTIVE AND DOESN’T EXERCISE, THE ENERGY NEVER ENDS UP GETTING MAXIMIZED.  

O:  FOODS ARE MADE UP OF THREE MAJOR BUILDING BLOCKS, AND THOSE ARE CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, AND PROTEINS.  

D:  A GRAM OF CARBOHYDRATES CONTAINS FOUR CALORIES.  A GRAM OF PROTEIN ALSO CONTAINS FOUR CALORIES.  A GRAM OF FAT, HOWEVER. CONTAINS NINE CALORIES.  SO, IF YOU HAVE A FOOD THAT HAS ONE GRAM EACH OF CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, AND PROTEINS, THE FOOD WILL CONTAIN A TOTAL OF 4 + 4 + 9, OR 17 CALORIES.  

O:  SO, BY KNOWING HOW MANY GRAMS OF CARBOHYDRATES, FATS, AND PROTEIN ARE IN A FOOD, YOU CAN ALWAYS CALCULATE THE NUMBER OF CALORIES, OR POTENTIAL ENERGY, IN THE FOOD.

D:  THEN, AFTER WE EAT THOSE CALORIES, OUR BODIES BURN THE CALORIES, AND EITHER ABSORB THEM TO BE USED RIGHT AWAY, OR THEY ARE METABOLIZED AND EVENTUALLY REACT WITH OXYGEN TO RELEASE THEIR ENERGY.  

O:  THE BIG QUESTION IS, HOW MANY CALORIES DOES YOUR BODY NEED TO DO WHAT IT NEEDS TO DO?

D:  THAT NUMBER IS DIFFERENT FROM PERSON TO PERSON.  THERE ARE LOTS OF FACTORS THAT DETERMINE HOW MANY CALORIES A PERSON MIGHT NEED, INCLUDING AGE, GENDER, HEIGHT, WEIGHT, AND HOW PHYSICALLY ACTIVE THE PERSON IS.  

O:  BODIES BURN CALORIES IN THREE DIFFERENT WAYS.  ONE OF THOSE IS CALLED THE BASAL METABOLIC RATE.  THAT IS JUST THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY YOUR BODY NEEDS TO WORK WHEN YOU ARE RESTING.  THAT’S RIGHT!  IF YOU ARE SITTING ON THE COUCH AND WATCHING TV, YOUR BODY IS BURNING CALORIES.  EVEN WHEN YOU ARE SLEEPING, YOUR BODY IS BURNING CALORIES.  IN FACT, ABOUT TWO-THIRDS OF THE CALORIES THE AVERAGE PERSON BURNS IN A DAY COME FROM BASAL METABOLIC RATE.  ENERGY IS NEEDED TO KEEP THE HEART BEATING, TO KEEP THE LUNGS BREATHING, TO KEEP THE KIDNEYS EFFECTIVE AT REMOVING WASTE FROM THE BODY, AND SO MUCH MORE.

D:  BODIES ALSO BURN CALORIES BY WHAT’S CALLED THE THERMIC EFFECT OF FOOD.  THAT’S JUST A FANCY WAY OF SAYING THE AMOUNT OF ENERGY YOUR BODY NEEDS TO DIGEST THE FOOD YOU EAT.  IT TAKES ENERGY TO BURN CARBS, FATS, AND PROTEINS DOWN.  ABOUT 10% OF THE CALORIES YOU CONSUME ARE NEEDED TO JUST BREAK DOWN THE FOOD YOU EAT.  

O:  THE THIRD AND FINAL WAY THAT BODIES BURN CALORIES IS THROUGH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY.  JUST TAKING OUT THE GARBAGE OR GOING TO GET THE MAIL BURNS A FEW CALORIES.  IF YOU DO MORE INTENSE PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, YOU COULD BURN LOTS OF CALORIES.  EXERCISING EVEN HELPS YOU BURN MORE CALORIES WHEN THE EXERCISE IS COMPLETE.  YOUR METABOLISM, OR CALORIE BURN, WILL BE INCREASED FOR ABOUT TWO HOURS AFTER YOU STOP EXERCISING.    

D:  ON A NUTRITIONAL LABEL, THEY WILL OFTEN USE 2,000 CALORIES PER DAY AS A ROUGH ESTIMATE FOR HOW MANY CALORIES THE AVERAGE PERSON NEEDS TO CONSUME, BUT AGAIN, THE ACTUAL NUMBER MIGHT BY MUCH HIGHER OR LOWER DEPENDING ON THE PERSON.  TAKE MICHAEL PHELPS, FOR EXAMPLE.  MICHAEL PHELPS WAS AN OLYMPIC SWIMMER WHO WON MORE OLYMPIC MEDALS THAN ANYONE ELSE IN HISTORY, 28 MEDALS!  WELL, MICHAEL PHELPS ATE 12,000 CALORIES PER DAY WHILE HE WAS TRAINING FOR THE OLYMPICS.  NOW, IF I ATE 12,000 CALORIES A DAY, I WOULD GAIN A LOT OF WEIGHT VERY QUICKLY, SO HOW DID MICHAEL PHELPS GET AWAY WITH EATING THAT MUCH?  WELL, HE TRAINED REALLY HARD, AT A SPORT THAT BURNS A LOT OF CALORIES, COMPETITIVE SWIMMING.  

O:  THE BASIC IDEA IS, IF YOU CONSUME, OR TAKE IN, MORE CALORIES THAN YOU BURN, YOU WILL GAIN WEIGHT.  ON THE OTHER HAND, IF YOU BURN MORE CALORIES THAN YOU CONSUME, YOU WILL LOSE WEIGHT.  

D:  WHEN THE BODY HAS 3,500 EXTRA CALORIES FLOATING AROUND, IT STORES THOSE CALORIES AS A POUND OF FAT.  SO, CONSUMING 3,500 MORE CALORIES THAN YOU BURN IN A WEEK WILL RESULT IN ABOUT ONE POUND OF WEIGHT GAINED, WHILE BURNING 3,500 MORE CALORIES THAN YOU CONSUME IN A WEEK WILL RESULT IN ABOUT ONE POUND OF WEIGHT LOST.  

O:  BURNING CALORIES CAN BE HARD WORK, IF YOU ARE DOING VIGOROUS EXERCISE, BUT BURNING CALORIES CAN ALSO BE FUN.  FOR THE AVERAGE PERSON, SINGING IN THE SHOWER BURNS BETWEEN 10 AND 20 CALORIES PER SONG.

D:  AND, I ALSO SOUND BETTER WHEN I SING IN THE SHOWER THAN I DO WHEN I’M NOT SHOWERING, SO THAT’S ANOTHER ADDED BENEFIT.  YOU CAN BURN UP TO 40 CALORIES BY LAUGHING FOR 10 MINUTES.  

O:  BRUSHING YOUR TEETH FOR THREE MINUTES WILL HELP BURN 10 CALORIES, AND OF COURSE IT WILL HELP YOU KEEP YOUR TEETH CLEAN TOO.

D:  WALKING YOUR DOG WILL HELP BURN ABOUT 100 CALORIES IN 30 MINUTES.  

O:  YOU BURN MORE CALORIES IN THE COLD THAN YOU DO IN THE HEAT.

D:  THAT’S BECAUSE YOUR BODY BURNS CALORIES WHILE YOU ARE SHIVERING.

O:  IT IS IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT CALORIES AREN’T BAD FOR YOU, EVEN THOUGH THEY GET A BAD REPUTATION.  CALORIES ARE NEEDED TO SURVIVE.  

D:  FOR KIDS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 6 AND 12, WHICH INCLUDES MANY OF THE CURIOUS KIDS THAT LISTEN TO THE PODCAST, THE RECOMMENDED RANGE FOR CALORIES IN A DAY IS BETWEEN 1,600 AND 2,200, DEPENDING ON HOW ACTIVE THE CHILD IS.         

O:  ANOTHER IMPORTANT THING TO CONSIDER WHEN LOOKING FOR FOODS THAT ARE HEALTHY IS THE SERVING SIZE.  LET’S TAKE CEREAL FOR EXAMPLE.  IF YOU GRAB A BOX OF CEREAL OFF THE SHELF AT THE SUPERMARKET, YOU WILL FIND A NUTRITIONAL LABEL WITH THE NUMBER OF CALORIES ON IT.  BUT THAT NUMBER DOESN’T REFLECT THE TOTAL NUMBER OF CALORIES IN THE ENTIRE BOX OF CEREAL, BUT ONLY THE NUMBER OF CALORIES IN A SINGLE SERVING.

D:  SO, A SERVING SIZE FOR CEREAL MIGHT BE ONE CUP.  A CUP IS A UNIT OF MEASUREMENT, SO TRY NOT TO THINK OF IT LIKE A CUP YOU WOULD DRINK OUT OF.  A CUP IS EQUAL TO 16 TABLESPOONS, AND IT’S A REASONABLE SERVING SIZE FOR CEREAL.  SO, THE BOTTOM LINE IS THAT THE CALORIES ON THE BOX OF CEREAL ARE THE CALORIES FOUND IN A SINGLE SERVING SIZE, SO IF YOU END UP EATING TWICE THE SERVING SIZE, OR TWO CUPS WORTH OF CEREAL AS IN THE EXAMPLE I PROVIDED, YOU WOULD END UP EATING TWICE THE NUMBER OF CALORIES AS LISTED ON THE BOX.  

O:  THERE IS A LOT OF INFORMATION ON A NUTRITIONAL LABEL, BESIDES JUST CALORIES, THAT MIGHT BE IMPORTANT TO CONSIDER.  

D:  CALORIES MAY BE IMPORTANT FOR ONE PERSON TO CONSIDER, BUT SOMEONE ELSE MAY WANT TO FOCUS ON CARBOHYDRATES MORE, OR PERHAPS HOW MUCH SALT, OR SODIUM, IS IN A FOOD.  BEFORE YOU EXAMINE NUTRITIONAL LABELS, PLEASE BE SURE TO TALK TO A GROWN UP, OR AN EXPERT, LIKE A DOCTOR OR NUTRITIONIST.  OKAY OLIVIA, LET’S ANSWER THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK.  WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES BURNS THE MOST CALORIES:  RIDING A BIKE LEISURELY, PLAYING A COMPETITIVE BASKETBALL GAME, PLAYING A COMPETITIVE SOCCER GAME, BOWLING, OR ROLLERSKATING?  

O:  PLAYING SOCCER BURNS MORE CALORIES THAN THE REST OF THOSE ACTIVITIES.  SOMEONE WHO WEIGHS 130 POUNDS WILL BURN ABOUT 590 CALORIES PLAYING AN HOUR OF COMPETITIVE SOCCER.  PLAYING BASKETBALL COMES IN SECOND AT 472 CALORIES, ROLLERSKATING IN THIRD AT 413 CALORIES, RIDING A BIKE IN FOURTH AT 236 CALORIES, AND BOWLING IN LAST AT 177 CALORIES.

D:  ANY TIME YOU MOVE AROUND, IT HELPS YOU BURN MORE CALORIES.  EVEN SOMETHING RELAXED, LIKE WATERING THE LAWN, WILL BURN ABOUT 89 CALORIES AN HOUR.  WELL, THAT’S A WRAP FOR THIS WEEK’S EPISODE.

O:  228 - CALORIES.

D:  GREAT JOB OLIVIA, AND GREAT JOB NORAH, BEN, AND COLBIE FOR THE ENERGY-FILLED EPISODE TOPIC SUGGESTION.  BEFORE WE SAY GOODBYE FOR THE WEEK, WE HAVE AN AWESOME LISTENER TO THANK.

O:  WE WANT TO THANK CONNOR FOR THE 5 STAR REVIEW.

D:  IT SAYS “MY NUMBER 1 POD!  MY NAME IS CONNOR AND I REALLY LOVE THIS PODCAST.  IT’S FUN TO LISTEN TO BECAUSE I’M PRETTY MUCH CURIOUS ABOUT EVERYTHING.  MY FAVORITE EPISODE IS THE BIGFOOT ONE, AND MY MOM LIKES THE ONE ON CHOCOLATE.  ANSWERING THE QUESTION OF THE WEEK TOGETHER IS THE BEST PART!”

O:  THAT WAS AWESOME.  WE HAVE HUNDREDS OF EPISODES FOR CURIOUS KIDS, LIKE CONNOR, TO ENJOY, SO CHECK THEM ALL OUT IF YOU HAVEN’T HAD THE CHANCE YET.  

D:  JOIN US NEXT WEEK WHEN WE WILL GET CURIOUS ABOUT MOSQUITOES FOR LISTENERS IN AUSTRALIA.  AS ALWAYS, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR LISTENING AND GETTING CURIOUS WITH US.