The body has limits for everything and one common question is how long a person can survive if there is a shortage of food. Since larger people tend to have higher reserves of fat within their bodies, you might be wondering how long their bodies can endure without food.
How Long Can A Fat Person Live Without Food? A fat person might be able to live without food for 8-12 weeks, as long as they drink water. A person’s survival without food depends on the body’s metabolism and overall health.
Science Focus mentions that if you do not eat food for a while, your body will begin to break down stored fat and muscles, converting them into glucose. Losing 40-50% of your weight can be deadly, and most people would die after 8-12 weeks of starvation, regardless of body weight.
How Long Can A Person Survive On Their Fat?
A woman can survive on her fat for an average of 66 days, while a man can only survive for about 53 days. The reason for this difference is that for the same body weight, men tend to have less fat than women on average.
The human body is dynamic because it is built to withstand various types of strain that a person might encounter. One such constraint that humans experience on a daily basis is starvation.
When a person’s food consumption reduces significantly or if a person stops eating completely, their body begins to find ways to compensate for the change in diet.
The body begins to use stored fat as a substitute for inadequate food, but there is a limit to this, as fat cannot be relied upon indefinitely. The duration through which a person can survive on their fat alone is largely influenced by their sex, weight, and overall health.
- Sex:
Surviving one’s fat level requires greater fat storage capability, and women can store more fat than men of equal weight because they have a higher concentration of the hormone estrogen.
Men, on the other hand, are better at converting fat into usable calories for energy. Also, for the same duration and amount of physical activity, men burn more fat than women, meaning they will likely use up their fat faster than women.
The difference in fat content between men and women also makes women better suited to survive cold weather. The higher fat content in women means they have a higher chance of enduring winter and famine.
- Weight:
Fat is required for energy, which is essential for survival. A person’s body weight can influence the amount of fat that can be converted into useful calories for energy.
So, the heavier a person is, the more likely it is for them to have a higher level of fat, making them survive on fat for a longer period.
- General Health:
A person’s survival on their fat depends on how healthy they are, how much muscle mass they have to help burn off calories, and how little of it they need to build muscle for energy.
Overall, these factors heavily influence surviving solely on fat, and a person should be fully aware of their fat levels and body status.
How Long Can A 200-Pound Person Go Without Food?
A 200-pound person can go without food for about 3 to 6 weeks. Your body can compensate for food deprivation by using stored fat, but after a while, it will lose the strength to cope with weight loss.
As mentioned in the previous heading, the amount of time a person can survive on fat without food is significantly affected by their body weight.
A 200-pound person cannot survive on fat for long because if they go without food for an extended period, they will lose weight. Initially, weight loss not might be so dangerous, but if it continues for long, it can cause harm and even death.
Apart from general weight and fat content, a 200-pound person might lose weight less slowly, depending on their body genetics and metabolism.
Some people can go longer than others without eating because of their genetics. Likewise, a person’s body metabolism rate affects their capacity to survive on fat. People may have different rates of fat breakdown, so one 200-pound person might survive longer than another.
In essence, a 200-pound person can typically survive on fat for three to six weeks. However, some variations still affect their survival rate, so it’s important to maintain the right nutritional levels to be on the safe side.
How Long Can A 600-Pound Person Live Without Food?
A 600-pound person can live without food for 50 to 90 days by surviving on fat. A person can only survive for 90 days on fat deposits to compensate for the caloric deficit caused by malnutrition.
The body of a 600-pound person can meet most of their calorie needs from stored fat, but it exhausts in about 8-12 weeks regardless of their initial body weight. When their stored fat reserves are depleted, they are unable to survive and cannot compensate for their diet’s insufficient caloric content.
According to the official calorie intake calculator, to maintain their weight, a 600-pound man should consume approximately 11,000 calories per day, while a 600-pound woman should consume 8000 calories per day.
When the body’s fat reserves are exhausted, a 600-pound person cannot continue to maintain the body’s calorie requirements for very long, endangering their health.
Furthermore, body fat sustainability is affected by their level of physical exertion, hydration, and overall health. If these factors are adequate, you can keep your body fat for much longer than if they are less than optimal.
What Lengths Would You Go For Food if You Had A Lack of Food or Money
| What hungry people did to get food (according to accounts of this happening) | Percentages of results: |
| Starved | 11.4% |
| Have not gone hungry/have not been in this situation | 76.1% |
| I have stolen to eat (food and/or money) | 8.1% |
| I have “dumpster dived” for food | 8.1% |
| I have lied for food | 5.6% |
| Other | 8.1% |
How Long Can A Fat Person Live Without Food and Water?
A fat person can live without food for about 8 to 12 weeks, which is longer than a thin person would survive. When it comes to water, however, most humans cannot survive for more than 3 days without a drink.
Food and water are necessary for both necessary for not just growth and productivity, but our general survival. The effect that starvation has on individuals varies depending on how healthy they are and their metabolism levels.
Water is generally more important than food since we can survive for a lot longer without food than without water. The average human will not be able to go past a few days without water, and a few weeks without food.
However, there are always exceptional cases. Based on scientific research, it may be possible for a person to go 8 to 21 days without food or water. The time range can also be affected by how physically active a person is.
A person’s longevity when starved can also depend on their weight. While a slim person might not last a long while without food and water, a fat person generally has a higher chance of survival.
A fat person has the advantage because their body will begin to use the excess fat stored in their body when there is no access to food. This means that a fat person will likely live a while longer than a slim person in cases of starvation.
Generally, the “rule of 3s” provides an estimate for the likelihood that humans would survive in the absence of food and water. The limit of the basic survival factors includes:
- 3 minutes without oxygen
The body can only endure 3 minutes without oxygen.
- 3 days without water
Water constitutes approximately one-third of the human body, and the body can survive without water for only 3 days.
- 3 weeks without food
Food supplements the nutritional intake of the body, and the body can only thrive for 3 weeks without food on average.
Food and water are both essential for the survival of life, and a fat person cannot survive long without these three necessities of life.
Water and food deprivation can have serious health effects. Some of them consist of:
- Faintness
- Dizziness
- Blood pressure drop
- Slower heart rate
- Hypotension and Acute weakness
- Low nutritional levels
- Dehydration and Abdominal pain
- Body temperature fluctuation
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Fatigue and depression
- Heart attack and death
The absence of food and water in the body can seriously harm a person’s activity levels. Additionally, body fat mass comprises 50% water, which supplements a fat person’s deficiency levels for proper body functioning.
The bottom line is that food and water are both essential to sustain life, and there is a limit to how long a fat person will survive irrespective of their fat level.
How Long Can A Fat Person Live Without Food But With Water?
A fat person can live for several weeks without food, as long as they have access to water. While food is essential for survival, water is more important, and access to fluid can keep a fat person going for one or two months.
The body requires plenty of water to function properly. Water is required to regulate the body’s pH, transport nutrients, eliminate toxins, and keep cells alive. On average, a person can only go three days without water.
A fat person might survive without water for about a day or two longer than a normal person because their excess fat contains water levels that can be absorbed back into their body fluid. Body fat can keep a fat person going for six to eight weeks without eating, but this is not so with water.
As is often said, “Water is life”. Without water, the body will self-destruct. According to scientific studies, the brain and heart are 73%, and the lungs are 83%. The skin is 64% water, and the muscles and kidneys are 79% water.
On the other hand, while we need food to survive, it is not as crucial as water. If someone does not take any food but has access to water, they can survive for much longer than they would without any water.
The average person can survive with water alone for about one or two months, and a fat person’s reserves might take them a bit longer than that. Again, the exact duration varies between individuals.
A great way to evaluate how long a person would live with water but no food is hunger strikes. For most people that began voluntary hunger strikes and died as a result, their death usually occurred about 55 to 75 days after the strike began.
Who Would Die First Of Starvation, A Fat Or A Thin Person?
Between a fat and a thin person, a thin person will likely die first of starvation. This is because the excess fat in a fat person’s body will provide enough calories to sustain them for longer periods.
Total starvation usually results in death within 8 to 12 weeks, regardless of initial body weight. Fat levels, however, can extend a person’s survival period, making fat people fare better than thin people. A fat person has extra fat that replenishes extra energy calories and can tolerate up to 20% more energy than a thin person.
A thin person is also less likely to survive starvation than a fat person because they have a slower metabolic rate, and their bodies use more energy. They have no energy reserves and thus will always be at a disadvantage.
Even if the body still has fat reserves after starvation, protein loss affects the function of vital organs and poses serious health risks. Thin people’s fat reserves deplete faster than fat people’s, increasing their risk of starvation, infections, and death.
Additionally, fat people burn excess fat deposits as energy calories, especially if these calories contain a high proportion of protein. Being overweight will make you live much longer because your body can get most of the calories it needs from stored fat.
Body fat is essentially reserved energy. The skinny person will always die of starvation before a fat person because they literally have fewer energy reserves to fall back on, thus hastening their inevitable demise. A fat person will be able to compensate for starvation from their reserved fat deposits.
To avoid risks of unwanted health events, know your body fat levels and take proper nutritional food dieting.
