Answer to Question #176251 in Chemistry for rehan

Question

Comment “Fatty acids are storage fuels”. The weight of a person ABC is 65 kg. About 11.5 kg of his weight is due to the fat deposits in the body. He went for a hunger strike. Can you explain how long he can survive? i. without water and food? ii. without food but with water? 

Answer 1

i. Generally, a person can survive without water for about 3 days. Even though fat mobilization and oxidation of fatty acids results in the release of water, these amounts will be not enough to maintain homeostasis.

ii. A person with 65 kg should consume approximately 2,000 kcal per day. The oxidation of 1 g of fats releases approximately 9 kcal. As a result, oxidation of 11.5 kg of fat would release 11,500 g × 9 kcal = 103,500 kcal. From here, he can survive approximately 103,500 kcal / 2,000 kcal/day = 51.75 days. As a result, it can be assumed that the person could survive not more that 50 days without food.