How many pounds of food does a human need a day to susain life.?

Question

I need to know, no stupid answers or bad feed back for you!

Answer 1

It's not the pounds of food that is important. It is the number of calories that food contains. The human body needs about 750 calories per day to remain healthy

Answer 2

Your basal metabolic rate is the amount of calories you need if you perform no activities - i.e., if you stayed in bed all day. It varies by person, depending on factors like age, sex, weight, and body composition. (There's a calculator here: http://health.discovery.com/tools/calculators/basal/basal.html.) For example, a 6 foot, 160 pound, 30 year old male has a basal metabolic rate of 1770 calories. (Obviously, the more active you are, the more calories you consume.)

Calories can come from fat, protein, or carbohydrates. Fat has 9 calories per gram, while protein and carbohydrates have 4 calories per gram. If that example person ate only fat, he'd need 1770/9=197 grams, or about 7 ounces of food. If he ate only protein or carbs, he'd need 15.6 ounces of food - just under a pound.

This is for a long-term diet. You can survive for a while on very few or even zero calories, but you will continually lose weight, so that's not sustainable.

Answer 3

Technically you can live off of vitamins. But you have to have a certain amount of protien, carbs, cals, and other assorted things. Look at a military M.R.E. (Meal Ready to Eat). They usually weigh less than a pound but they have the nutrients to keep you alive for a day.

Answer 4

I think it depends on how many calories, grams of protein or carbs are in what you eat not the actual weight of the food.

Answer 5

The weight of the food is not necessarily relevant. It has to do with the caloric content of the food that is consumed.

Answer 6

maybe a half pound...8 ounces