Two cups of broccoli provides roughly the same number of calories as 1 tsp. of butter, according to the Mayo Clinic. Calorie density accounts for the difference. When you make healthful diet choices, you can eat more food for your calories. Although you don't need to eat only vegetables or ban fat from your diet, you can bulk up your eating plan by striking a healthy balance.
Identification
The weight and calorie content of a food item contributes to its energy density. Foods that are high in weight and low in calories have a low energy density, according to the Mayo Clinic. In turn, foods that weigh less and provide a high number of calories are considered high in energy density. Foods that fall somewhere in the middle are moderate density foods.
Significance
It's volume, not calories, that drives your appetite, explains the National Institutes of Health. People each day tend to eat the same amount of food in weight. Any consistency in caloric intake is likely attributable to habit. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggest that you can manage your weight and improve your health by eating foods that are low in energy density more often.
Factors
Several features affect calorie density, including the water, fiber and fat content of a food item. Foods that are high in water and fiber but low in fat typically provide a low number of calories. Because fat grams provide more calories than carbohydrate or protein grams, fat content increases the energy density of food. Fat weighs in at nine calories per gram, while carbs and protein provide only four calories per gram.
Effects
Eating foods that provide a low number of calories in relation to their weight can help you lower your overall caloric intake. The key is to substitute foods low in energy density for higher calorie foods. A balanced diet is important for good health, but it's easy to allow foods high in energy density to root out or limit healthy essentials such as vegetables and whole grains. Striking a balance can improve your health and help you reach and maintain a healthy weight.
Considerations
Although the calorie density of foods such as cake, asparagus and apples are fairly simple to gauge, other foods such as raisins, pretzels and rice may be trickier. The CDC explains that you can calculate energy density by dividing calories by weight. The weight per serving is listed next to the serving size on packaged foods. High energy dense foods have four to nine calories per gram, medium density foods provide 1.5 to four calories per gram, low density foods contain 0.7 to 1.5 calories per gram and very low density foods have between zero and .6 calories per gram, according to the CDC.
References
- Mayo Clinic: Energy Density and Weight Loss: Feel Full on Fewer Calories
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Low Energy Dense Foods and Weight Management: Cutting Calories While Controlling Hunger
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Can Fruits and Vegetables Help People Manage Their Weight?
Member Comments