Energy Balance

When you eat, you are taking in energy and when you work you are burning energy. When you burn exactly what you take in, you are in a state of energy balance. Energy balance is simply when energy intake is equal to energy expenditure. 

But do you eat more than you burn? Or burn more than you can consume? Then your energy balance leaves much to be desired. When your energy intake is equal to the needs of your body, bodyweight is maintained at a fairly constant level. This constant body weight is an index of energy balance in healthy adults.

However, when intake is consistently inadequate and is unable to meet the body’s need for energy, the fat reserves in the body make up for this deficit leading to a loss of weight. An underweight person has reduced the capacity for work, low vitality and low resistance to disease.

Food Exchange

Did you know that one medium size bannock (Chapati) is equal to one slice of bread, four Indian Marie biscuits and two tablespoons of cooked rice?

What it means is that all these four items have the same number of calories, proteins, carbohydrates and fat and in terms of nutrient composition can be substituted with each other. For instance, you can substitute a bannock for biscuits or rice. That would increase the number of calories. This is the food exchange system wherein foods in any one group can be substituted by a different food within the same group, differing in only the portion size. However, foods in one group cannot be exchanged for foods in other groups.