Problems of the obese

1989/03/01 Elhuyar Zientzia Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Osasuna

Sudden death that can occur due to long fasting is not a direct consequence of weight loss, but of the disappearance of tissue proteins. An adequate diet should take as a source of energy only the already accumulated fats (and not proteins). Fasting mainly fats are spent, but proteins are also lost. Low-calorie diets that ensure the intake of liquid proteins cannot avoid the risk of sudden death. It seems that the disappearance of the necessary proteins, like those of the heart, cannot be ruled out. Some animals, such as penguins, can perform long fasting without apparent effects. How do they get it?

A team of researchers from the Strasburg CNRS has studied penguins and found that these birds start eating again from a moment on. It seems that the body gives them a kind of signal that pushes them to eat before overcoming the dangerous limit of disappearance of reserves. In the obese man has not been seen and may be related to the need to spend more protein at the end of fasting. This higher expenditure occurs before the fats disappear completely. In the case of penguins, when the food is resumed, the animal still has 20% of the initial fats.

How to apply this to human beings? If the amount of initial fat reserves and the amount eliminated in the diet could be estimated, the fast could be interrupted before it occurred.