So fiber in foreign cereal brands...

Do they count it towards the amount of calories in the product? I recently bought an Italian cereal, and it has 38g fiber per 100g of product, and the kcal count is 246 per 100g. Is the fiber counted toward the 246 kcals?

Also, can someone clarify to me why fiber doesn't count toward the caloric intake in America? Thank you =]

...bump? ^^;

You're confusing calories with carbohydrates.  The calorie count is the amount of energy in a food... so your cereal has 246 calories in a 100g serving.  If you were counting carbohydrates for some reason you'd add the grammes of carbohydrates shown per 100g and you'd deduct the grammes of fibre per 100g.

In the states we don't count fiber calories because the fiber is not digested.  Therefore those calories just "pass through".  There's no point counting them if your body can't convert them into energy.

^ but then why do other places do it? considering we're the only place that does, something doesn't seem right.

Original Post by garnet18:

^ but then why do other places do it? considering we're the only place that does, something doesn't seem right.

i was starting to think that too.

it seem weird that we are the only place that dosent count them. . .

and that we're one of the most overweight countries in the world, right?

it just makes me wonder how much lenience the FDA is willing to give our food when it comes to stuff like this (not saying it's THE factor for the obesity rate, just something to think about).

eh, something doesn't add up.

i haven't been able to find a definite answer on this yet, though.

Fiber is not the cause of the obesity epidemic in the USA.  In fact, for many people fiber is the cure.  It makes you feel fuller so you eat less and it aids digestion. 

Fiber is classified as carbohydrate and carbs have 4 calories per gram.  But since fiber is not digested and therefore the calories are not absorbed by the body counting the calories in fiber is like counting the calories in a cookie that you did not eat. 

So does that mean that my European 1450 kCal intake per day is not the same as your American 1450kCals??

oh, i'm not saying that fiber is by any means the cause of the epidemic. what i meant is that the FDA gives too much leeway in presenting us with adequate nutrition facts, and this is just an example of something like that. obviously a lack of movement and oversized portions play more of a key role in obesity but it's still something to think about.

I agree with garnet. And I feel a bit decieved by things like that. Also the whole "if it's 5 cals or less per serving, then it's 0 cals". You have no way of knowing how many calories are in the product. Even if it's a ridiculously small amount, I'd still like to know exactly what I'm putting into my body and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

The FDA shouldn't allow companies to lie to us like that. =[

Original Post by gi-jane:

You're confusing calories with carbohydrates. The calorie count is the amount of energy in a food... so your cereal has 246 calories in a 100g serving. If you were counting carbohydrates for some reason you'd add the grammes of carbohydrates shown per 100g and you'd deduct the grammes of fibre per 100g.

Well, I got somewhat confused because it shows more grams of fiber than grams of carbs, so I was just wondering if they counted the fiber in addition to the amount of carbs towards the total amount of calories.

Yes its true in most foriegn countries fiber has to be counted in total caloric content of a product.

So Fiber One in say Canada is about 120 per 1/2 cup versus 60 in the US, there is also laws that regulate fortificiation of cereal in other countries.

Also heres a fun face Ireland consumes more cereal per capita than any other country in the world and Australia is one of the most health conscious countries in the world :)