Burning Calories | The Truth About…

Duration: 4'20''

Synopsis

Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates how much energy is in popular foods by setting them on fire.

Further Information

More clips from The Truth About...

Alcohol | The Truth About...

Alcohol | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2016 | 58'00''

A&E doctor Javid Abdelmoneim is on a mission to find out the truth about alcohol, including why the government cut the recommended weekly limit ...

Antibiotic Resistance | The Truth About...

Antibiotic Resistance | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2019 | 2'25''

Angela Rippon gives a brief introduction to the antibiotic resistance crisis.

Antibiotics | The Truth About...

Antibiotics | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2019 | 58'13''

Documentary in which Angela Rippon looks into the new ways that scientists are trying to fight bacterial infections, as they try to combat a...

Boosting Your Immune System | The Truth About...

Boosting Your Immune System | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2021 | 57'54''

Dr Ronx Ikharia presents the definitive guide, not only to defending yourself against Covid-19, but also boosting your stren...

Calories | The Truth About...

Calories | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2015 | 57'52''

Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates Britain's favourite foods to discover the truth about calories and shows how we can all be healthier by eati...

Carbs | The Truth About...

Carbs | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2018 | 57'59''

Dr Xand van Tulleken investigates whether claims about negative effects of carbohydrates on health are true and explores healthier ways to consume...

Cosmetic Treatments - Part 1 | The Truth About...

Cosmetic Treatments - Part 1 | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2020 | 57'46''

In this first of two episodes, Michael Mosley and Mehreen Baig investigate non-invasive facial procedures - and how they ca...

Cosmetic Treatments - Part 2 | The Truth About...

Cosmetic Treatments - Part 2 | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2020 | 58'05''

Michael Mosley and Mehreen Baig look at non-invasive procedures for the body, including fat freezing, fat heating and the g...

Dementia | The Truth About...

Dementia | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2016 | 58'34''

Angela Rippon investigates Alzheimer's disease. She learns how people can help to prevent it, meets some of those who are living with it and ex...

Exercise and wellbeing | The Truth About...

Exercise and wellbeing | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2021 | 7'26''

How exercise can increase mood and improve cognitive stimulation.

Fat | The Truth About...

Fat | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2015 | 58'59''

Dr Saleyha Ahsan cuts through the confusion and reveals the surprising science of fat - which types of fat we should be eating, and how much is good...

Food and wellbeing | The Truth About...

Food and wellbeing | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2021 | 6'36''

The role of food and psychobiotics for improving wellbeing.

Getting Fit | The Truth About...

Getting Fit | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2018 | 57'32''

Michael Mosley teams up with scientists whose latest research is turning common knowledge about fitness on its head to separate fact from fi...

Getting Fit at Home | The Truth About...

Getting Fit at Home | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2021 | 58'04''

Mehreen Baig delves into the latest science on home fitness. She reveals why six minutes per week could be enough and why doing too ...

Hand-Washing | The Truth About...

Hand-Washing | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2019 | 2'32''

Susan Lea explains why hand-washing is one of the simplest thing we can do as individuals to stop the spread of bacteria in our environment.

Healthy Eating | The Truth About...

Healthy Eating | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2016 | 57'48''

Documentary in which Fiona Phillips teams up with leading scientists to investigate how people can eat and drink themselves to good health.

HIV | The Truth About...

HIV | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2017 | 57'50''

Dr Chris van Tulleken explores the latest science around HIV, meeting health professionals, scientists, and individuals affected by it in the UK and...

Improving Your Mental Health | The Truth About...

Improving Your Mental Health | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2021 | 57'09''

Professor Tanya Byron and Alex Scott uncover the latest science on how to improve your mental health and wellbeing - and re...

Innovative testing for use of antibiotics | The Truth About...

Innovative testing for use of antibiotics | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2019 | 2'42''

Angela finds out about a novel machine that analyses your blood to determine if using antibiotics would be of ...

Living with a ''Superbug'' and using antibiotics | The Truth About...

Living with a ''Superbug'' and using antibiotics | The Truth About...

BBC One | 2019 | 3'48''

Emily talks about living on and off with a 'Superbug' that is resistant to many strains of antibiotics.

More resources about Health and Social Care

The Drug Trial: Emergency at the Hospital

The Drug Trial: Emergency at the Hospital

BBC Two | 2017 | 58'24''

Documentary telling the story of one of the most infamous medical emergencies in recent British history, when six healthy men took ...

Chris Packham: Asperger's and Me

Chris Packham: Asperger's and Me

BBC Two | 2017 | 59'10''

Chris Packham invites us inside his autistic world to try to show what it is like being him. Chris explores the question of whether Asperger...

03: Food on the Brain | The Secrets of Your Food

03: Food on the Brain | The Secrets of Your Food

BBC Two | 2017 | 58'23''

Michael Mosley and James Wong explore the effect that our food has on our most important and, in terms of energy consumption...

Diabetes: The Hidden Killer | Panorama

Diabetes: The Hidden Killer | Panorama

BBC One | 2016 | 57'58''

An investigation into the health epidemic that afflicts almost one in ten people in Birmingham and can lead to heart failure, blindnes...

Mental Health: Young Lives in Crisis | Panorama

Mental Health: Young Lives in Crisis | Panorama

BBC One | 2022 | 57'46''

With unique access to the biggest mental health service in the UK, Panorama reveals the challenges faced daily by clinicians ...

Mental: A History of the Madhouse

Mental: A History of the Madhouse

BBC Four | 2010 | 58'58''

Documentary telling the story of the closure of Britain's mental asylums and what it says about society's changing attitudes to mental illn...

Introduction to care work | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

Introduction to care work | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

BBC One | 2020 | 5'26''

Rhod Gilbert finds out what it takes to be a carer, firstly getting a lesson in ''manual handling'' and assisted w...

Caring for an elderly resident | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

Caring for an elderly resident | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

BBC One | 2020 | 1'24''

Rhod helps wash and clothe 90-year-old Merv as a carer for the day and finds it to be a rewarding experience.

Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health? | Panorama

Ultra-Processed Food: A Recipe for Ill Health? | Panorama

BBC One | 2023 | 28'56''

Ultra-processed foods contain chemicals that regulators say are safe, but there is emerging evidence of a link betw...

Gambling experience and advertising | Darren McGarvey's Addictions

Gambling experience and advertising | Darren McGarvey's Addictions

BBC Scotland | 2022 | 7'39''

Darren meets an ex-gambler who hits home its realities. They also introduce a group who are targeting the ...

S02E06 | GPs: Behind Closed Doors

S02E06 | GPs: Behind Closed Doors

Channel 5 | 2015 | 44'42''

Observational documentary series going behind the scenes at a GP practice in Putney. This week, the mental health of patients and GPs at th...

The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs

The rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria | Michael Mosley vs The Superbugs

BBC Four | 2017 | 1'12''

Michael Mosley introduces the problem of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and Superbugs.

Home visit | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

Home visit | Rhod Gilbert's Work Experience

BBC One | 2020 | 3'37''

Rhod Gilbert does a home visit as a carer for someone who has had Parkinson's disease for 17 years.

How Do We Pay for the Care of our Elderly? | Panorama

How Do We Pay for the Care of our Elderly? | Panorama

BBC One | 2010 | 8'39''

Should the state pay for social care for the elderly or should people sell their homes and be responsible for funding t...

S03E02 | Trust Me, I'm A Doctor

S03E02 | Trust Me, I'm A Doctor

BBC Two | 2015 | 59'16''

Going behind the headlines to give the definitive answers to health questions. Michael discovers whether just changing your diet can lower ch...

The NHS Crisis: Can It Be Fixed? | Panorama

The NHS Crisis: Can It Be Fixed? | Panorama

BBC One | 2023 | 29'16''

The NHS is in a critical condition. The BBC’s social affairs editor, Alison Holt, assesses the innovation and new ways of working...

History of gambling | Darren McGarvey's Addictions

History of gambling | Darren McGarvey's Addictions

BBC Scotland | 2022 | 5'16''

Darren discusses the history of gambling, its affect on the economy but also the negative effect it has on individuals.

Rocket fuel | The Secrets of Your Food

Rocket fuel | The Secrets of Your Food

BBC Two | 2017 | 4'50''

Carbohydrates such as rice are such an important part of our diets due to the amount of energy they provide once broken down.

The Discovery of Penicillin | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

The Discovery of Penicillin | Extra Life: A Short History of Living Longer

BBC Four | 2021 | 4'03''

The story of how Alexander Fleming accidentally discovered penicillin.

The Drug Trial That Went Wrong | Dispatches

The Drug Trial That Went Wrong | Dispatches

Channel 4 | 2006 | 48'37''

Award-winning journalist Brian Deer investigates the circumstances surrounding the infamous drug trial conducted at a private uni...

More from Chris van Tulleken

Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic

Disease X: Hunting the Next Pandemic

BBC Two | 2025 | 58'53''

Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates a mysterious virus that could cause the next pandemic, one scientists think will be deadlier than Cov...

Chris van Tulleken - The Truth About Food: 03: The Big Food Hack | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

Chris van Tulleken - The Truth About Food: 03: The Big Food Hack | Royal Institution Christmas Lectures

BBC Four | 2024 | 59'16''

Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates how we have hacked our food system...

Irresistible: Why We Can't Stop Eating

Irresistible: Why We Can't Stop Eating

BBC Two | 2024 | 59'53''

Chris van Tulleken takes a personal view at why ultra-processed foods are so irresistible and how they have come to dominate food cult...

What Are We Feeding Our Kids?

What Are We Feeding Our Kids?

BBC One | 2021 | 57'53''

Is ultra-processed food causing obesity in children, and could it even be addictive? Dr Chris van Tulleken investigates as he undergoes an expe...

How the body responds to extreme temperatures | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

How the body responds to extreme temperatures | The Human Body: Secrets of Your Life Revealed

BBC Two | 2017 | 3'36''

Chris van Tulleken uses a miniature thermometer to explore what happens to his ...

Don't Panic About Puberty | Operation Ouch!

Don't Panic About Puberty | Operation Ouch!

CBBC | 2016 | 28'10''

In this special episode, Dr Chris and Dr Xand take a look at what happens to your body, and why, when you reach puberty.

'Emotional eater's'' and stress-eating | What's The Right Diet For You? A Horizon Special

'Emotional eater's'' and stress-eating | What's The Right Diet For You? A Horizon Special

BBC Two | 2015 | 2'32''

Scientists give some of the dieter's a purposefully stressful driving test and then...