Research & Education, Initiatives & Advocacy
Balancing Calories Is Key
October 18, 2013
It’s common these days to pick up a newspaper and read a headline about how a single food or beverage is uniquely causing obesity. While you’ve heard from us about the many reasons why those headlines are misleading and false, we thought it might pack a little more punch to hear it from our trusted government, as well.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC):
Whether you're consuming carbohydrates, fats, or proteins all of them contain calories. If your diet focus is on any one of these alone, you're missing the bigger picture. … When it comes to maintaining a healthy weight for a lifetime, the bottom line is – calories count! Weight management is all about balance—balancing the number of calories you consume with the number of calories your body uses or “burns off.”
The CDC also highlights the following tidbits of helpful information:
A calorie is defined as a unit of energy supplied by food. A calorie is a calorie regardless of its source. Whether you're eating carbohydrates, fats, sugars, or proteins, all of them contain calories. Caloric balance is like a scale. To remain in balance and maintain your body weight, the calories consumed (from foods) must be balanced by the calories used (in normal body functions, daily activities, and exercise).This is important information for anyone trying to maintain, gain or lose weight. Just remember: balance is key to living a healthy life, so regardless of your physical shape, pay attention to the amount of calories you consume and those you burn off. To learn more, visit LetsClearItUp.org.