Calorie counting na old skool and e dey dangerous?

Dis na dat time of di year wen some of us dey make resolutions.

Shedding weight to get beta shape dey among one of di most popular resolution wey pipo dey take every new year.

To achieve dis, most times wey dey try reduce di amount of food wey we dey chop and increase our exercise.

Dem dey calculate di energy wey dey inside food in calories, many of us dey assume say if we count and cut-down di amount of calories wey we dey take, we go achieve our weight-loss goal.

But dat na di right approach, or na time to tink am again?

Some experts say not only say calorie counting na outdated method but dem also argue say e dey dangerous, as we explore here through di history of calorie.

Wetin be calorie and wia di word from come?

Calorie na unit of energy, wey dem dey usually use to describe di nutritional value of foods.

Di term come from Latin word calor, wey mean heat and dem don dey use for century.

"Nicholas Clément define calorie as di amount of heat wey dem take to raise one litre of water to 1C at sea level," Dr Giles Yeo, professor of molecular neuroendocrinology for di University of Cambridge tell BBC.

French scientist Clément bin be di first to use di world for lectures on heat engines for di start of di 19th Century.

Diafore today dictionary definition say calorie dey equivalent to di heat energy wey dm need to raise di temperature of 1kg of water by 1C, and equal to one thousand small calories: a kilocalorie.

Which impact di discovery get on di world?

Di scientific ability to accurately measure di caloric content of food na turning point moment.

"We suddenly go from world wia wey believe say particular pesin diet dey relate directly to dia race, to di weather wia dem live, to dia social class and of course to di gender and e no possible to compare any two diet.

But suddenly, dem come dey comparable," Nick Cullather, professor of history and international studies for Indiana University, Bloomington, explain.

Our assumption about food pass through massive change.

People begin see food as di total many parts like protein, carbohydrates, micronutrients, fat and so on.

"As dem come dey see di body as engine and food as fuel e change di way pipo take dey look food," Cullather tok.

For di 20th Century calories even begin influence public policy.

During 1920s and 1930s, Japanese Navy implement dietary standard for im sailors, to wetin dem see as bringing dem in line wit European standards.

Dem add wheat, meat, and particularly pork and chicken to di sailors diets and advertise to di Japanese public.

In fact, di Japanese food wey many of us dey enjoy today from dis diet change.

Over di decades di US don use calorie counting to determine how much food aid dem need to send go kontris wey dey suffer drought and di League of Nations, wey come as result of Versailles Treaty for end of First World War, study nutrition, setting global standard for 1935, come recommend make adults take 2,500 calories per day.

Now di accepted standard na 2,500 calories for a man and 2,000 calories for woman per day.

Why some experts argue calorie counting dey outdated?

Some experts argue say calorie counting dey outdated and here na why.

Even if different foods get equal energy value, dem fit no give di same health or nutritional benefits. For example - glass of milk get about 184 calories and similar glass of pure beer get less, 137 calories.

"Actually we no dey eat calories; we eat food and then our body go work to extract di calories. Depending on di kain food you eat, carrot, donut or meat, our body need to work in different degrees to extract calories," geneticist Giles Yeo tok.

Di label we see for supermarket food inform us how much calories a portion contain but e no go indicate of how much our body go fit to absorb.

"For every 100 calories of protein we chop, we go only absorb 70 calories. So, 30% of di protein calorieswe go spend am taking upon protein so we go fit absorb di calories," im add.

"Fat on di oda hand dey very energy solid and e be very efficient store of fuel. For every 100 calories of fat we eat, we go get 98 to 100 calories of fat," Yeo say.

Put am simply if you eat 100 calories of chips you go absorb far more calories dan if you eat 100 calories of carrot.

Yeo argue say calorie counting as diet plan no make sense, unless you consider di type of food wey you dey chop.

And di complication no end dia.

How much energy any of us go extract from one particular food go dey affected by many individual variables like our age, di amount we sleep, how much gut bacteria and hormones we get, how we chew our food, etc.

As dem dey make ultra-processed food, dem dey remove proteins and fibres while dem add fat, sugar and salt to make di food calorie rich but poor in nutritional value.

"Calories give you amount. E dey unsure of nutritional content. E no go tell you, how much fat, sugar, carbohydrates, fibre, vitamin. Dat na my issue wit calorie. Na blunt tool," Yeo, wey argue calorie counting fit actually encourage us to make unhealthy choices, tok.

Calorie counting dangerous?

"Dis die-put on calories dey damage pipo," Adrienne Rose Bitar, specialist for history and culture of American food and health for Cornell University, New York, warn as im argue say obsession wit calories and signing for calorie reduction programmes fit create problems.

"Unlike alcoholic wey you fit just stop, you no fit stop food.

"Many eating disorders like anorexia, bulimia, orthorexia start wit innocent calorie counting programme," Bitar argue.

She says some programmes even advise pipo to survive dangerously low-calorie diets.

Wetin be di alternative?

Outside di food industry, dem no dey use calories measure energy, na joules.

Some food companies now dey give food value in kilojoules.

But calories don capture public imagination so much, so tey pipo wey no know wetin dem be, fit understand say consuming too many calories bad for your health.

Some experts like Bridget Benelam from British Nutrition Foundation warn us make we no dump calories.

Im say wit all im k-leg, calorie get functional value.

"Obesity na probably di biggest public health issue wey we dey face now. And so, understanding wetin dey lead pipo to becoming overweight and obese important," Benelam say.

For some pipo wey really wan lose weight she says counting calories fit dey very helpful to plan weight loss diet.

"E dey important to understand wetin pipo dey consume wia di calories from come. So, for example, wen we dey look at weda pipo dey eat to much saturated fat, we dey calculate am based on how many calories dem dey get from saturated fat. So, from scientific point of viewdis na important tins to measure and important tin to understand," she add.

For UK di National Health Service (NHS) say make pipo balance di energy wey dem dey consume wit di energy wey dem dey use and say make dem no worry if dem occasionally end up eating too much.

Dem recommend say: "Just take in less energy on di following days."

Dis na based on two World Service radio programmes, Food Chain and Di Forum.