A calculation of the percentage of calories that come from fat, carbohydrates and protein requires you to know the specific amounts of each of these calorie sources. This information is available in the nutritional label, which is generally required for most types of food. The percentage of calories that come from fat, carbohydrates and protein is important information if you're on a diet that limits you to specific percentages of each of these sources of calories.
Step 1
Obtain the amount of fat, carbohydrates and protein in a serving of the food. The nutritional label should provide these values in units of grams.
Step 2
Derive the number of calories in the food that come from fat. Each gram of fat provides about 9 calories, so the number of calories that come from fat is 9 x F, where F is the number of grams of fat. Assume the food has 11 g of fat. The food, therefore, provides 9 x 11 = 99 calories from fat.
Step 3
Compute the number of calories that come from carbohydrates. Each gram of carbohydrates provides about 4 calories, so the number of calories that comes from carbohydrates is 4 x C, where C is the number of grams of carbohydrates. Assume the food has 7 g of carbohydrates. The food, therefore, provides 4 x 7 = 28 calories from carbohydrates.
Step 4
Compute the number of calories that come from protein. Each gram of protein provides about 4 calories, so the number of calories that come from protein is 4 x P, where P is the number of grams of protein. Assume the food has 8 g of protein. The food, therefore, provides 4 x 8 = 32 calories from protein.
Step 5
Find the total number of calories in the food. This will be the sum of the calories from fat, carbohydrates and protein. A food that has 99 calories from fat, 28 calories from carbohydrates and 32 calories from protein will have a total of 99 + 28 + 32 = 159 calories.
Step 6
Calculate the percentage of calories that come from fat, carbohydrates and proteins. This example has 99 calories from fats and 159 total calories, so 99 / 159 x 100 = 62.3 percent of the calories in the food come from fat. There are 28 calories from carbohydrates and 159 total calories, so 28 / 159 x 100 = 17.6 percent of the calories in the food come from carbohydrates. There are 32 calories from protein and 159 total calories, so 32 / 159 x 100 = 20.1 percent of the calories in the food come from fat.
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