What's The Difference Between Kcal And Calories? | The Times Of India

Sign In

TOI

Go toTOIEtimes

• home
• lifestyle
• relationship
• food news
• Health+
• style
• visual stories
• trending
• parenting
• Senior Living
• the arts
• soul search
• beauty
• books
• recipes
• travel
• home & garden
• events
• spotlight
• videos

• News
• lifestyle
• food-news
• What’s the difference between Kcal and Calories?

TrendingEleanor RooseveltBlood Sugar LevelsHelen Keller QuotesAnthony HopkinsSkin Cancer SymptomsHarrison FordRaw Amla vs Amla JuiceColon CancerSrisailamHigh Cholesterol SymptomsEleanor RooseveltBlood Sugar LevelsHelen Keller QuotesAnthony HopkinsSkin Cancer SymptomsHarrison FordRaw Amla vs Amla JuiceColon CancerSrisailamHigh Cholesterol SymptomsEleanor RooseveltBlood Sugar LevelsHelen Keller QuotesAnthony HopkinsSkin Cancer SymptomsHarrison FordRaw Amla vs Amla JuiceColon CancerSrisailamHigh Cholesterol SymptomsWhat’s the difference between Kcal and Calories? Jan 4, 2021, 20:00 ISTShareAA+Text Size

• Small
• Medium
• Large

Follow us

1/3

​Is Kcal and calorie different?

Do you often find yourself struggling to understand the calorie game, especially understanding the calorie measurement mentioned as Kcal or calories. For most of us these may mean the same thing, but you would be amazed to know that both the things are different and here’s how you can distinguish between Kcal and calories. Read on…

2/3

​What are calories?

Calories are nothing but a measure of energy converted from the intake of food. Calories are calculated either in the form of energy derived from foods or loss of energy by burning calories while exercising and other sports.

However, the measurement and mention of calories also depends on geographical region and may vary from country to country. In some places it is measured in kilocalories (kcal) and kilojoules (kJ), this may lead to confusion especially in terms of measuring calories in a pack of food or beverage.

3/3

​Understanding the calorie game

Understanding the calorie game may be a bit tricky as there are two types of calories small as well as large.

If the “C” in calories is written in uppercase, it indicates a large calories, and if it’s lowercase, it indicates a small calories.

On an average, large calories can be estimated to generate the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of 1 kg of water by 1°C (34°F).

In the context of small calories, the estimated calories needed to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1°C (34°F).

In fact, 1 large calorie may be equal to 1,000 small calories, as 1 kg equals to 1,000 grams. However, this may seem confusing and to avoid this confusion between both large and small calories, the prefix kilo means 1000 and is generally used to refer to large calories.

In fact, calories and kcal are used interchangeably and refer to the same amount of energy in relation to food or energy burned with exercise.

Therefore, you don’t need to convert them, as 1 kilocalorie equals 1 calorie in nutrition and may also be expressed as kilojoules (kJ).

Almost all packaged or processed food come with a nutrition label, which lists the amount of energy a food product contains. Some of the foods label contains a mention of calories, kcal, kJ, or a combination of these.

Most calories are used interchangeably and referred to the same amount of energy. Calories or kcal may also be defined as kJ.

Follow Us On Social Media

Photostories

• 1
• 2
• 3

Food videos

32:03

32:03

27:30

13:05

16:34

04:34

06:37

03:19

04:48

07:18

08:08

06:47

03:20

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4

More Videos

Featured In Food

MORE FROM ETIMES

life & styleBaby NamesBlood PressureOptical illusionRare Flu ComplicationCollagen Boosting FruitsLiving and entertainmentETimesTravel DestinationsCricbuzz.comTVLifestyleNewspaper SubscriptionFood NewsTimes PrimeWhats HotServicesCouponDuniaTechGigTimesJobsBollywood NewsTimes MobileGadgetsWork with UsColombiaHot on the WebHelen Keller QuoteEleanor Roosevelt QuoteColon CancerWiper BladesHeart HealthAnthony HopkinsHarrison FordRaw Amla Vs Amla JuiceBlood Sugar LevelsColon Cancer RiskSunjay KapurDhurandhar Movie CollectionSkin Cancer SymptomsOvercoming ConstipationBlood Sugar Control DrinksHigh Cholesterol SymptomsAnant AmbaniAishwarya Rai BachchanKidney HealthBlood PressureShatrughan SinhaAkshaye KhannaTere Ishk Mein CollectionDhurandhar Movie ReviewLucifugous WordColon Cancer SymptomsAkhanda 2 Movie ReviewRahman DakaitClove WaterTere Ishk Mein Movie ReviewWalking Barefoot On Grass BenefitsDaily Habits For Cancer PreventionMilk Benefits For BonesBest Time To Drink Green TeaBest Sleep Pattern For HealthEarly Signs Of Mouth CancerKing Cobra VS Common CobraVirus Causes Bladder CancerCauses Of Pedal OedemaTurmeric Health BenefitsSaliva And Disease CorrelationTrending TopicsLatest MoviesBollywood MoviesHollywood MoviesTamil Movies 2025Telugu Movies 2025Malayalam Movies 2025Kannada Movies 2025Marathi Movies 2025Bengali Movies 2025Top Rated Movies 2025Best Hindi MoviesBest English MoviesBest Telugu MoviesBest Tamil MoviesBest Malayalam MoviesBest Kannada MoviesBest Bengali MoviesUpcoming Hindi MoviesBest Movies Of All TimeBest Hindi Movies of All TimeLatest English MoviesLatest Malayalam MoviesEnglish TV NewsTamil TV NewsTelugu TV NewsMalayalam TV NewsKannada TV NewsMovie ReviewsBhojpuri Cinema NewsGujarati Cinema NewsPopular CategoriesViral NewsK Pop NewsWeb Series NewsAnime NewsUpcoming English MoviesUpcoming Tamil MoviesUpcoming Telugu MoviesUpcoming Malayalam MoviesUpcoming Kannada MoviesFashion TipsTravel NewsEntertainment NewsBollywood NewsTollywood NewsKollywood NewsMollywood NewsFood NewsLatest Hindi MoviesLatest Tamil MoviesParenting TipsHome RemediesWeight LossBeauty TipsParenting TipsHindi VideosHindi Video SongsBhojpuri Music VideosLatest Telugu MoviesBhojpuri Music VideoHindi TV NewsLatest NewsDon't travel right now: Immigration attorney's advice to Indian H-1Bs amid mass appointment rescheduling1k passengers penalised for illegal alarm chain pulling'Big Boss 19': Pranit More shares a handwritten letter by a fan, 'Life me yehi toh kamaaya hai'Canadian billionaire Kevin O’Leary says that this is the biggest money trap that people fall into without noticingMumbai Sea Link gets a power-up as Sting Energy and Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS F1 team take overJeff Bezos and Michael Dell join JP Morgan's $1.5 trillion national security initiative for which Jamie Dimon says he has poached one of Warren Buffett’s personally selected investors‘No interest in 3D men, just love anime, manga, and…’: Japan minister's views on love go viralIBPS PO Mains scorecard 2025 released at ibps.in: Check direct link to download and other details hereEvening news wrap: Goa nightclub owners cry foul, seek anticipatory bail; DGCA deploys oversight team at IndiGo HQ and moreConstipation in winter: 3 dietitian-approved foods for better digestion"Everything is free... ": French woman stunned to see Golden Temple's massive community kitchen, calls it 'stunning' and unbelievableShabana Azmi openly addresses infertility and not having her own children, saying, 'Society makes you feel incomplete'Elon Musk on DOGE: They wouldn't have been burning Tesla cars if ...Democrats liken Travis Kelce to Donald Trump after 20-10 loss to Houston Texans despite Taylor Swift’s supportSophie Cunningham surges past Caitlin Clark in stunning upset on Google’s 2025 popular athlete rankingsTN chief wildlife warden issues order to capture tiger that killed tribal woman in NilgirisIAF celebrates legacy of 1971 victory with aerial power displayWorld No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka slams WTA rules, calls transgender participation ‘unfair’Copyright © 2025 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights: Times Syndication ServiceFollow us on