This website (and associated e-book) is about energy, in particular energy at a personal level, and the units in which it is considered.
It is directed principally to the non-technical person and has the general aim of assisting people manage their body mass, as part of a broader good health objective.
It has the specific objectives:
First:
Knock out the calorie!
The calorie is an old, technically obsolete, metric unit of energy that has been used in nutrition for a very long period, well before serious attempts were made to introduce metric units in general to the UK and US.
It is so well established in the English-speaking world that most people do not recognise it as a metric unit.
Why knock it out? (It's nothing personal.)
Like most aspects of the scientific and technical world, the metric system of units has developed and its modern form, called the International System of Units, has replaced it.
The International System of Units or “SI” after the French title, Systéme Internationale d'Unités, has been adopted in principle across the world, including the UK and US.
HOWEVER, there is a problem:
The calorie is not the unit of energy in the SI.
Replace the calorie with what?
Replace it with the “joule”, which is the unit of energy in the SI.
Second:
Break the linkage of the kilogram with weight.
In the International System of Units, it is as absurd to say “my weight is 60 kilograms” as to say “my weight is 60 metres” or “my weight is 60 seconds”.
The kilogram is the unit of mass in the SI; the “newton” is the unit of force or weight.
“Weight” is the gravitational force on objects on earth; in the SI the newton is the unit of weight.
Well, what do I say?
You say: My body mass is 60 kilograms.
This ties in with the usage of “body mass index” as a general health indicator.
In the SI, if you really want to talk about your weight – your gravitational force on planet Earth, your “Earth-force” – you could say, to avoid confusion:
My Earth-weight is 600 newtons or My Earth-force is 600 newtons
Numerically, in SI, your weight on Earth is simply ten times your body mass. On another planet or on the moon, your weight will be different:
My Mars-weight is 240 newtons / My Moon-weight is 96 newtons
Your body mass remains the same at 60 kilograms.
Third:
Move the SI up front and personal.
Managing your body mass places emphasis on:
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Your general good health: Your body mass index.
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Your food energy intake: Count your joules.
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Your diet & diet structure: As easy as 1-2-3 or 10-20-30.
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Your energy output: More time on your feet.
In addressing these issues, the International System of Units becomes relevant in a very personal way.
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