H Veeder <[email protected]> wrote: << > When you lose weight, where does it go? Turns out, most of it is exhaled. > In a new study, scientists explain the fate of fat in a human body, and > through precise calculations, debunk some common misconceptions. Fat > doesn't simply "turn into" energy or heat, and it doesn't break into > smaller parts and get excreted, the researchers say. > >> >
Obviously it is not excreted! That's idiotic. It has to be oxidized (burned; metabolized) to produce energy. If it were excreted it would still have all the potential energy. Excretia includes only waste products the body cannot metabolize; similar to ash. People have been measuring metabolism by measuring CO2 output for well over a century. That is the only way to measure it. That is why medical research projects have people on treadmills wearing face masks. > Most people believed that fat is converted to energy or heat, which > violates the law of conservation of mass. > Whaaaat? It is burned. It is carbon that combines with oxygen from the air to form CO2. > We suspect this misconception is caused by the “energy in/energy out” > mantra and the focus on energy production in university biochemistry > courses. > This is nuts. - Jed
