Kilocalorie (kcal) is a unit of energy and is used to measure the amount of energy provided by food or consumed by the bodyA kilocalorie is the amount of energy needed to increase temperature a kilogram of water with one degree Celsius.
Kilocalories are often used in nutrition and dieting to measure the energy value of foods. The energy value of a food is determined by completely burning it and measuring the energy released in the process. The energy value of a food depends on its content of CARBOHYDRATE, protein, fats and other nutrients.
This important let's remember that, usually, when we talk about calories in context diets or weight loss weight, we actually refer to kilocalories. For example, when we read the nutritional labels of foods, the caloric values are custom expressed in kilocalories.