In a time of famine is it better for a human to be obese, very muscular, or both?

Asked by Ltryptophan (12091

) December 1st, 2022 from iPhone

I guess bears hibernate and bring some added fat. Obviously, humans don’t have a hibernation strategy, but I think the bears are using a combination of both stored surplus fat and overall mass.

I guess it could be made to sound like a joke. A very fat guy, a skinny ascetic, and a world heavyweight champion boxer compete to see who can go the longest on little to no food, who wins??

Food scarcity is a reality for many people.

Observing members: 0

Composing members: 0

5 Answers

Neither, a little overweight but otherwise in-shape would likely be in the best position.

Blackwater_Park (8581

)“Great Answer” (4

) Flag as…

I would think a healthy thin person would fair the best in the long run. Because they would be the most used to eating the least and therefore using the least calories and being able to last the longest on the least. Heavy and muscular people need much more calories to sustain themselves and would suffer much quicker and need more calories to keep going.

RayaHope (7448

)“Great Answer” (4

) Flag as…

Muscle consumes energy, even at rest. So two equal sized and equal weight guys, in a locked room with no food, the obese guy last longer. The body CAN cannibalize muscle for energy, but the muscle is USING more energy also.

HOWEVER, in a real world famine, the muscled guy will just KILL the obese guy and eat him.

Entropy (4172

)“Great Answer” (3

) Flag as…