Calorie Count

Aimee Cleveland, Dietetic Intern
University of Maryland, College Park

Calorie Count is an excellent resource for managing weight by tracking dietary intake and activity. It has a simple layout with easy navigation and is more than just a comprehensive food log. Health advice from dietitians, as well as articles, success testimonials, and free electronic diet tools can help motivate and educate users of the site.

The site is broken down into seven categories including a personal database page, food catalogue, and an interactive blog. The personal page, My Account, is where users log in their daily food consumption and physical activity. This tracks the number of calories consumed and actually burned. The exercise list is comprehensive, including a variety of occupations for a more accurate assessment.

The Community tab is meant for support and inspiration as it offers forums, journals, groups to join, and other ways to communicate with fellow participants.

Under Tools one can find a diet profile calculator, updated information available via the phone, and a BMI calculator. The convenient text messaging service allows participants to type any food item to “Health” on their wireless device and receive an immediate nutrient analysis back. This is useful for the health professional in coaching patients to maintain weight by knowing if a certain food is beneficial or not. Whether out to eat or at a party, it is always available and serves to reach an individual’s goal quicker. The downloadable toolbar is also meant for convenience as it records the daily progress of calories eaten and remaining for the day.

Mary Hartley, RD is one of the certified experts responding to the steady list of questions that arrive daily.  Although there are many health professionals who contribute to this site, Mary has her own service entitled Ask Mary. Here questions are sent in and answers are posted publically. The Blog is the latest addition to the site as it supplies daily recipes, tips, and health advice.

Calorie Count is a helpful reference for both the dietitian and consumer. By providing a free online database, food information can be viewed and shared virtually anywhere. The capacity to know the content of one's diet can help in maintaining weight and caloric consumption; thus leading to greater success.