Food is one of the essential resources you should have in case of a disaster.Everybody instinctively wants to eat. It is therefore a smart idea to store food so that you have enough on hand.
When you do not have enough to eat, your body switches to burning stored fat and eventually other tissues in order to maintain life. At that point it’s only a question of time before you die from starvation. No one likes to think about this grim scenario.
Is it possible for someone who is overweight to survive a bit longer in starvation? How long can an obese person survive without food?
A person who is overweight will survive about the same amount of time as someone else if they are starving. Around 8 weeks or 12. When starving, fat can provide calories and nutrients but is not a complete food source and cannot guarantee survival.
We’ve all made the joke that “at least, we won’t starve” when trying to justify our weight gain.We won’t die if you have some extra fat, but that doesn’t mean we’ll survive longer under real starvation.
The truth is, it doesn’t seem reasonable. Below, I will tell you all you need to understand.
Don’t assume you will always have food on hand
In my work and travels, I have encountered a lot of preppers who are incredibly cocky about their survival food supply.
The cost and effort of purchasing and maintaining an enormous supply of food, not to mention the time and resources spent, is significant. Many preppers take pride in knowing that their family won’t go hungry during a crisis.
It’s true and I am happy for them. The problem I see is people checking this box and assuming they will never starve when the trouble comes.They are all prepared.
No! Overconfidence can be suicidal. You or your family members could be prevented from eating by a number of events that may occur during the live event.
It is possible that you will be stranded a long way from the food supplies which were carefully prepared. You might run out of food if the event lasts long enough.
Your home, or the location where you have chosen to bug out from a disaster, could be destroyed and your food along with it. You never know what could happen!
Because anything is possible, it’s always possible to starve, even if the chance of that happens seems remote.
If you don’t eat enough, you will start to starve
You will begin to starve once you run out of food or if you don’t eat enough to meet your daily calorie requirements.
Starvation takes a long time if there is a slight deficit. Starvation can occur relatively fast if there is a major food deficit or if all the food has been removed.
It is important to remember that survival often involves an endless list of things that must be done to remain safe.
You’ll use more energy for things such as hiking, hunting, or building shelters, so you will need more calories in order to keep up your energy levels.
Fuel is all that food can be. Food is fuel. It’s a complicated fuel but it still fuels our bodies. In a survival situation, you don’t need to have an empty stomach to suffer from a caloric deficit.
Once the deficit is large enough or continues for a long time, it will cause you to really suffer.
What Are the Stages of Starvation
The stages of starvation are distinct and have distinct processes. All people will go through these phases when they’re starving. However, some might experience them faster or for a longer period of time. Many variables are involved.
The first stage will last between 7 and 10 days. It will occur during a time of significant caloric deficit.
This is done by the body using stored reserves of energy, glycogen. These are stored in muscles and liver.
The process can be accelerated by avoiding carbohydrates completely or almost entirely.
The second stage is when the body turns to other tissues in order to cover any remaining energy deficit once glycogen reserves are exhausted.
Here, fat is burned in large quantities. However, muscle protein also starts to burn. It leads to weakness, decreased energy, fatigue, mental fogginess, loss of strength and a reduced level of overall energy.
Stage three . After several more weeks, the body has burned all of its fat reserves and sacrificial muscles for energy.
As you can imagine, this is an awful bargain. And as soon as the stage begins to kick in, someone will die.
What Are the Signs and Symptoms Of Starvation
If you continue to starve, your symptoms will get worse. The longer the starvation continues, the worse the symptoms and effects may be.
Short-term starvation will cause a person to feel weakened, with less energy and a reduced work capacity.
You may also experience mental problems such as irritability and a loss of balance, or difficulty in concentrating.
Starvation can have severe and obvious physical consequences. These include a loss in muscle mass and tone, swelling of the limbs and torso, weight loss and hair loss.In the final stages of hunger, anemia, organ failure and death will occur.
The stored body can provide energy, but only for a limited time
This horrible story has a moral: Fat can provide you with energy when starving but for only a short time.Fat is less readily accessible as an energy source than the glycogen stored.
Why would an obese person not live longer, if fat can be a valuable source of energy in starvation?
Wouldn’t a bigger fat store be more “fuel” that the body could use in the given circumstances?
Body Fat Does Not Provide Essential Nutrients
Fat isn’t a complete source of nutrition, so relying solely on it as a way to counter starvation can be a problem.
This food is high in calories but low on vitamins and minerals, which are essential to preventing starvation. It is possible to eat a lot of food and die from malnutrition.
Our bodies burn fat to get the nutrients and calories that it has, but they must also obtain the critical other nutrients from tissues. These tissues are not as sacrificed as fat.
This is the reason you will die in roughly the same time no matter what other factors you consider.
How long will an obese person survive if they are starving?
If you starve a fat person for 8-12 weeks, they will likely survive.The excess body fat does not increase survival times for all of the above-mentioned reasons.
How long can a fit person survive when starving?
All things equal, a slimmer person can survive for the same time as an obese person in severe starvation: 8-12 weeks.
Age, general health, existing conditions, and other comorbidities are the major factors that influence this timeline.
Does extra muscle mass or fat keep you alive longer?
It won’t, at least not up to a certain point. People who are chronically underweight or have wasting diseases such as anorexia, will be less likely to survive than someone with a healthy amount of fat and muscle.If you are not severely underweight you will be as prepared as possible for starvation.