From what I understand, kilo is used for a 1000 units of something. Like kilometer is 1000 meters, kilogram is 1000 gram and so on. But when it comes to the food we consume, when we say coconut water has 18 kilocalorie/100 gm, why does it not mean 18000 calorie in general sense?
In: Physics
Although the other comments are factually correct they only apply (afaik) in the United States.
In most of the world only the kcal (=kilocalorie) is used. The idea of having a “special” Calorie with a capital “C” is, quite frankly ludicrous. There is no need for this unit and – as you have so rightly pointed out – it is confusing and could even be dangerous.
A 100 gm of coconut water has 18 kcal or 18,000 calories; calories are a very small unit – thats why we measure them by the 1000.
Latest Answers