Calorie literacy - that's what we're after. And boy is it needed. Check out this YouTube clip of people trying to guess the amount of calories in a typical fast food meal.  The vast majority of people get it wrong. There are guesses from 0.3 to 5,000 calories! The actual total is 1,215 calories.

Obviously, most people don't have a clue about the number of calories they put into their bodies each day.  That's one of the reasons for the growing obesity epidemic in America and around the globe.  It's also why New York City and other places are trying to mandate that restaurants post calorie amounts on their menus and menu boards. 

This is a great step to promoting calorie literacy - the degree to which individuals can get, understand and use calorie information to make calorie balance and health decisions. But as we argue in an earlier Stand Up & Eat Blog, calorie labeling is only one part of calorie literacy. People also have to know how many calories they need to maintain their current weight. Or for most Americans, the calories they need to lose weight. Plus, we all need to get a clue about how FEW calories we burn each day and what are simple, easy ways to move more.

There are resources in the Stand Up & Eat Tools page to help you become fluent in all parts of calorie balance - calories in, calories out, and calories needed.  Check them out and report back in the comments section on what you learned about your calorie literacy.