A calorie counter is a mechanism which calculates the caloric content of an individual or combination of foods. There are various ways to calculate calories including databases, reference charts, calculators and smartphone applications. Counting calories can used to track nutrition or control weight.http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/dos-donts-counting-calories The amount of calories a human needs depends on the size of their body and the amount of physical activity they get or energy they require. Setting a target body weight may also help determine how many calories are optimally necessary.http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/dos-donts-counting-calories

While calories are counted for various reasons, they are sometimes tracked in compliance with a diet plan. Certain diets require calories be counted due to the fact that they mandate a certain amount of calories for daily ingestion. Some diets may count calories in order to achieve desired effects and understand the complex effect food has on the human body.http://women.webmd.com/how-to-read-food-labels

• A calculator enables users to input their age, gender, weight, height, and the amount of exercise they conduct in order to determine how many calories are suitable for daily intake.http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

• A calorie chart lists foods and beverages alphabetically and indicates the amount calories items contain in addition to their carbohydrate and fat content, serving size and cooked vs. raw comparison.http://whatscookingamerica.net/NutritionalChart.htm

• Calorie databases can be accessible online or in books and help keep track of nutritional information for thousands of foods and dishes.http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/

• Reading ingredient labels and keeping a tally of the calories indicated is another way of counting calories based on serving size. Ingredient labels often contain additional nutritional information.http://women.webmd.com/how-to-read-food-labels