kilokaloría

Kilokaloría is a unit of energy commonly used in the field of nutrition and food science to measure the energy content of food and beverages. It is defined as the amount of energy required to raise the temperature of one kilogram of water by one degree Celsius. The term "kilokaloría" is derived from the Greek words "kilo," meaning thousand, and "kaloría," meaning heat.

In the context of nutrition, kilokalórias are used to quantify the energy provided by macronutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, and fats. The energy content of food is often expressed in kilocalórias per 100 grams of the product. For example, a typical slice of bread might contain around 250 kilocalórias per 100 grams.

The kilokaloría is also used in other scientific and engineering contexts to measure energy, but in nutrition, it is specifically tailored to the energy needs of the human body. The kilokaloría is abbreviated as "kcal" or "kCal" to distinguish it from the smaller unit of energy, the calorie, which is abbreviated as "cal."

It is important to note that the kilokaloría is not an SI (International System of Units) unit, but it is widely used in nutrition and food science due to its practicality in measuring the energy content of food. The SI unit for energy is the joule, and one kilocaloría is approximately equal to 4,184 joules.