Does it dissolve? Does it convert into muscle? Does it hide somewhere, eagerly awaiting the moment we give in and attack an entire chocolate cake?
Well, according to a recent study, our pesky lbs actually do disappear into thin air!
Findings, which were published in the British Medical Journal this week, have established that our fat is exhaled as carbon dioxide meaning the lungs are a vital component in the weight loss process.
Commenting on the research, Andrew Brown of the University of New South Wales, said: “There is surprising ignorance and confusion about the metabolic of weight loss. The correct answer is that most of the mass is breathed out as carbon dioxide.”
Mr. Brown, who worked alongside former physicist Ruben Meerman in order to answer the age-old question, established that excess protein and carbohydrates are converted into chemical compounds which consists of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and then stored in fat cells. To lose weight, the researchers assert that you must unlock the carbon that is stored in the fat cells.
Explaining the importance of their findings, the researcher said: “These results show that the lungs are the primary excretory organ for weight loss. The water formed may be excreted in the urine, faeces, sweat, breath, tears or other bodily fluids, and is readily replenished.”
According to the researchers, to lose 10 kilograms of human fat, one must inhale 29 kilograms of oxygen which produces 28 kilograms of carbon dioxide and 11 kilograms of water.
By mapping the route of these atoms, the pair established that 8.4 of the 10 kilograms were exhaled as carbon dioxide while the remaining units were excreted through human waste.
Commenting on their findings, the duo said: “None of this biochemistry is new, but for unknown reasons it seems nobody has thought of performing these calculations before. The quantities make perfect sense but we were surprised by the numbers that popped out.”
