The Calorie Has Died

The Calorie Has Died

Have you heard? I turned on the radio a week or two ago and found out that the calorie finally passed away. I was a little sad, because it’s been a reliable component of nightly news coverage ever since I was a child. There is a rising trend of opinion that counting calories is now an outdated concept, destined to fail in our endless battle against unwanted weight gain.

The calorie has actually been around for over 200 years, a solid if not glamorous feature of the scientific landscape. For generations, we’ve been led to believe that the number of calories ingested daily by a living thing would directly determine how steeply its body could tip the scales. If this has been disproven, it will surely turn the study of nutrition upside down. In an effort to understand what’s happened, I located the source article, “Death of the Calorie” by Peter Wilson. It laments our historical reliance on—and, to be fair, obsession with—calorie sums to guide our daily food intake. One problem is that different materials with the same calorie count don’t perform the same inside the body. (It seems you cannot consume your daily ration in the form of Gummi bears while still remaining healthy. Who knew?) The article also notes that different individuals digest the same food in different ways. (I think we knew that also; it’s called “having a great metabolism.”) It points out that the calorie totals printed on food labels are not very precise and that the timing of food consumption also plays a role in its impact. Counting calories is, without a doubt, an imperfect science.

While it’s true that many other factors come into play when choosing a healthy diet, a simple number is still at the center of every plan. You may think of the calorie as a nuisance that should be put to death if at all possible, but we cannot do right by our pets if we have absolutely no idea what to put into the bowl. A solid numerical starting point is essential in any journey toward weight loss, gain, or maintenance. This figure is used on a daily basis in my hospital, to determine if critically ill patients are consuming enough food to survive, or to match the insulin needs of a diabetic with her meal plan. For pets between 5 and 100 pounds, a simple math equation approximates the calories necessary for each day: multiply the pet’s weight by 13.6 and then add 70. This figure is then used to determine the necessary intake for the day in cups or ounces. Although pet foods are similar in appearance overall, their calorie content varies greatly, and that information can be obtained from the manufacturer.

Obviously, a simple number doesn’t stand alone in the construction of a healthy diet, and that’s a disappointment for some (however, it is not a new insight). The calorie is truly far from perfect, but be careful what you believe; the reports of its demise have been exaggerated.

Dr. M.S. Regan