Glossary of terms

Updated 31 May 2024

Activities of Daily Living – Basic tasks that burn Calories such as bathing, housework, and walking to work or school

BMI – Body Mass Index, calculated by dividing a person's weight in kilograms by the square of the person's height in meters (kg/m2)

Brand name – Food of a specific brand, such as Denny’s Mac and Cheese. Each brand of a specific food has different nutritional values. If a diet includes a branded product, the nutritional values will be most accurate if you use the brand name when you search for the food, or if you take values directly from the product label. Manufacturers are not required to list all nutrients on brand name product labels.

Cal – In nutrition, the word "Calorie" or "Cal" refers to a kilocalorie, which is the value that is used on manufacturers’ nutrition labels. A Calorie (cal), or small Calorie, is the amount of heat required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water by 1 degree Celsius. A kilocalorie (kcal, Cal) is the amount of heat needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram of water by 1 degree Celsius. A kilocalorie is equivalent to 1000 small Calories. Kilocalories are sometimes called "food calories" or shortened to "calories" when referring to the energy in food.

DRI – Dietary Reference Intake. DRIs are developed and published by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). DRIs represent the most current scientific knowledge on the nutrient needs of healthy populations.

Energy balance level – Calories consumed compared to total energy expenditure

Exchange values – Values associated with a group of measured or weighed foods that have approximately the same nutritional value. Within each exchange group of foods, one exchange is approximately equal to another in Calories, carbohydrate, protein, and fat.

FNDDS – Food and Nutrient Database for Dietary Studies used by the USDA

Free foods – Food items that do not have exchange values either because there is no limit on the amount you can eat or drink, or because a serving size portion of the food has a Calorie content of less than 20 Calories.

Gluten free diet – A diet that excludes gluten, a protein found in most grains, including wheat, barley, rye and triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)

MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Tasks) – A MET is a variable unit used to measure the intensity of a physical activity. A MET represents the number of Calories consumed by an organism per minute in an activity relative to the basal metabolic rate. See also: Compendium of Physical Activities

MyPlate value – How closely food intake for a MyDietAnalysis Profile compares to the latest USDA Dietary Guidelines for food intake

USDA – US Department of Agriculture

Vegan diet – A diet that excludes meat, poultry, fish and seafood, dairy products, and eggs