Can morbidly obese people survive longer without food?

[flunky nassau]

Anyone have any knowledge on this topic?

When starved, does your body break down fat or muscle first?
If it's fat, would a 700 pound person be able to survive for months & possibly come out a lot more lean?

 

[Leros]

They would die from lack of vitamins and minerals.

 

[kyparrish]

I'm thinking it wouldn't make a difference, I think they'd starve within a few days.

 

[mb]

Having absolutely no knowledge on the subject, I would think if the person still had access to water, then maybe a little bit longer.

 

[Zolty]

Rule of 3s

3 minutes with out O2 to the brain
3 days with out water
3 weeks with out food

The fatter the person the longer they should live so long as they have the first 2.

 

[DotheDamnTHing]

Who wants to try?

 

[swimscubasteve]

Whales do it (some eat nothing for more than 6 months) and they are mammals so I bet we could to.

 

[IceBergSLiM]

what about that kid in tibet that has been meditating for months without food or water

 

[NeoV]

for what's it's worth, morbidly obese doesn't mean someone has to be anywhere close to 700lbs

 

[Kelvrick]

Originally posted by: swimscubasteve
Whales do it (some eat nothing for more than 6 months) and they are mammals so I bet we could to.

They also travel miles underwater and only need to come up for air for periods of up to 50 minutes. I'm sure we could too.

 

[AbAbber2k]

Originally posted by: Kelvrick

Originally posted by: swimscubasteve
Whales do it (some eat nothing for more than 6 months) and they are mammals so I bet we could to.

They also travel miles underwater and only need to come up for air for periods of up to 50 minutes. I'm sure we could too.

:laugh:

 

[OREOSpeedwagon]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
what about that kid in tibet that has been meditating for months without food or water

is he still going at it?

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
what about that kid in tibet that has been meditating for months without food or water

That's fake. I believe they come out every night to bring him a glass of water and a slice of bread.

BTW, didn't he go missing a while back?

 

[akshatp]

Any chance this thread was created because of the 700 lb woman who was stuck in her bathroom in NJ earlier today?

 

[nakedfrog]

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
what about that kid in tibet that has been meditating for months without food or water

That's fake. I believe they come out every night to bring him a glass of water and a slice of bread.

BTW, didn't he go missing a while back?

What about that old indian guru, then? He was held under scientific observation, and they found that some sort of hole in his palate or something allowed moisture collected from the air to drip down into his throat. He didn't eat, though.

 

[Nocturnal]

Originally posted by: nakedfrog

Originally posted by: Nocturnal

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
what about that kid in tibet that has been meditating for months without food or water

That's fake. I believe they come out every night to bring him a glass of water and a slice of bread.

BTW, didn't he go missing a while back?

What about that old indian guru, then? He was held under scientific observation, and they found that some sort of hole in his palate or something allowed moisture collected from the air to drip down into his throat. He didn't eat, though.

I'm fairly certain that one was proven fake on a Penn and Teller show as well.

 

[mrizvi66]

i'd say thats an affirmative...

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: IcebergSlim
what about that kid in tibet that has been meditating for months without food or water

he's dead jim

 

[sao123]

Jesus went 40 days in the wilderness without food...

 

[zephyrprime]

Apparently not. I've read that some people that are super obese are put on extreme regimines by their doctors and they die of starvation even though the regimen is still ~1000 calories a day. I think you would last longer is you were obese but not morbidly obese.

 

[lupi]

Originally posted by: Zolty
Rule of 3s

3 minutes with out O2 to the brain
3 days with out water
3 weeks with out food

The fatter the person the longer they should live so long as they have the first 2.

 

[dainthomas]

We get the vast majority of our water intake from food. So a fatty who didn't eat would have to drink a crapload of water and probably take some nutrient supplements.

 

[SludgeFactory]

Generally the fatter you are, the longer you can go w/o food and the better your fat:muscle loss will be when you diet. As you get lean, then muscle loss becomes a bigger issue.

In the book "The Ketogenic Diet," Lyle McDonald makes an offhand reference to some study where a morbidly obese person or persons was fasted for a full year under medical supervision. I assume they had vitamin/mineral supplements, but I don't have any details about what actually went on. A 700 pound person (with ~500-550 lbs of excess fat) would theoretically have more than enough stored energy to pull off that feat.

 

[brandonbull]

Originally posted by: SludgeFactory
Generally the fatter you are, the longer you can go w/o food and the better your fat:muscle loss will be when you diet. As you get lean, then muscle loss becomes a bigger issue.

In the book "The Ketogenic Diet," Lyle McDonald makes an offhand reference to some study where a morbidly obese person or persons was fasted for a full year under medical supervision. I assume they had vitamin/mineral supplements, but I don't have any details about what actually went on. A 700 pound person (with ~500-550 lbs of excess fat) would theoretically have more than enough stored energy to pull off that feat.

Their body would have to convert to burning fat for energy and then revert back.

 

[Drakkon]

i say this sounds like a job for the mythbusters....quick go get a couple of homless dudees and fatten em up!