Energy from food

• Each one of the five food groups is important. All food contains energy.

  1. Fruit and vegetables contain vitamins to keep the body working and help the immune system and fibre which helps digestion.
  2. Proteins build healthy muscles and allow the body to grow and repair.
  3. Fats and oils act as an energy store.
  4. Carbohydrates keep energy levels up.
  5. Dairy contains calcium for strong teeth and bones.
• Carbohydrates increase endurance levels. Fruits and vegetables are required for vitamins, minerals and fibre. Protein is required for growth and repair. Fats are energy-dense foods. 
• consumer is any animal that obtains its energy from food. A producer is a plant or alga that completes photosynthesis. A herbivore is an animal that eats plants. A carnivore is an animal that eats other animals.
• Regularly consuming too much energy can directly lead to obesity.
• Food is a chemical store of energy. Kinetic energy is movement energy. Objects that are higher have more gravitational potential energy. Electrical energy is the flow of electrons around a circuit
• • Energy is measured in joules (J) or kilojoules (kJ). An older unit for measuring food energy is the kilocalorie, often just called calories. One calorie is 4.2 J.
• • Different animals need different amounts of energy. An elephant needs around 200,000 kJ every day, and a cat about 800 kJ.
• • The amount of energy a human needs depends on many things, including their age and what they are doing. An elite athlete training regularly would need much more energy than the average person. During pregnancy more energy is required to help the unborn baby grow.
• • Typically, a 13-year-old girl would need 9,000 kJ every day and a 13-year-old boy would need around 10,000 kJ every day.
• • Food is a store of chemical energy, which is transferred to the consumer when eaten.
• • This energy from plants and animals keeps the consumer alive and allows it to carry out its activities.
• • Food is a store of chemical energy, which is transferred to the consumer when eaten.