[USMA:32233] RE: pseudometric units

[Brenton]

Recently, I wrote to the manufacturer of the treadmill used at my gym. Here in Australia, there is quite a substantial quantity of food products here that do not supply calorie information any more   Some examples can be seen at these URL’s   http://users.tpg.com.au/adslw05b/Maggi%20Seasoning.jpg   http://users.tpg.com.au/adslw05b/Whittakers%20Chocloate.jpg   http://users.tpg.com.au/adslw05b/KraftPeanutPaste.jpg     Hello Brenton, Thanks for your question regarding the conversion from Calories to Kj on our treadmill information reading. Yes the software has be set to automatically convert miles to Km and pounds to Kg’s, however this conversion has been restricted to these two readings only as we do not use the alternative measurements. When looking at caloric reading, in Australia we are actually use both. You’ll see this when reading food labels. If you wish to calculate it for yourself , simply multiply the caloric amount by approximately 4.17 and you’ll have the amount in Kj. At present the software does not convert it for you. Please keep in mind that with any brand or type of cardio equipment the energy consumption reading should only be used as a guide – it is only an estimated reading. Unless you are able to include your exact BMI and other vitals you are only given an estimate reading not an exact reading. As I said this is for any brand of Cardio that you’ll find in commercial gyms. I hope this answers your question. Should you have any further questions regarding BMI or fitness related questions your best first point of call should be the trainers / fitness instructors at you gym. If they are unable to help you, Life Fitness will do our best to answer your questions. Take care and keep fit   Thanks for your reply, As my first point of call, I did speak to one of the instructors at gym about kj’s and calories and they seemed to had a view that they were two different things and I was confused with that information.    From my research on the internet and from discussions with health professionals I have come to the view, that we in Australia are to use kj’s.  I do the multiplying that you suggested, but usually only by 4 to give me a rough idea.    Quote: Food energy is measured in 'kilojoules'. The common term for this used to be 'calorie' (or 'kilocalorie'), but 'kilojoule' is the term now accepted internationally.   I found that information from” http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Kilojoules_and_calories-explained?OpenDocument     Most food labels I read will have the kilojoules first, and calories followed in brackets. Some items do not even provide calories and only kj’s, which to me indicates the relevance (or support) of this older unit.    My understanding is the reason we still use calories in Australia is partly due to imported equipment such as yours, international influence, and oldies here that are resistant to change.   When I contacted some of the companies in the attached photos, they informed me that Australia does not officially use calories anymore, and those companies who do, do so purely as a curtesy. I suppose it is very similarly to when we changed form Pounds, Shilling and Pence, when I was one year old.    Many people still preferred to use that unit of currency for years after it was abandoned.    Cheers.       -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Pierre Abbat Sent: Thursday, 10 February 2005 23:47 To: U.S. Metric Association Subject: [USMA:32232] pseudometric units   A couple of pseudometric units in common use are the calorie (used for measuring food energy) and the torr (used for measuring blood pressure). I know some countries put kilojoules on nutrition labels, but is there any movement to unseat the torr? phma -- A man found gold and left a rope; but he who found No gold he left did tie the rope around.