Question

A typical 70 kg human could use energy at a rate of roughly 90 W, on average, for just resting and sleeping. When the person is engaged in more strenuous activities, the rate can be much higher

If this 70 kg individual did nothing but rest, how many food calories (1 food calorie 1 kcal) per day would he or she have to eat to make up for those used up?

Answer 1

To sustain an energy usage of roughly 90 W for resting and sleeping, a 70 kg individual would need to consume approximately 1859 food calories per day.

Step-by-step explanation:

If a 70 kg individual did nothing but rest and sleep, consuming energy at a rate of roughly 90 W (watts), we can calculate the amount of food calories they would need to intake to sustain this energy usage.

First, we need to convert watts to kilojoules per day (since 1 W = 1 J/s): 90 W × 86,400 seconds/day = 7,776,000 J/day (which is 7776 kJ/day).

Next, we convert kilojoules to food calories, knowing that 1 food calorie (kcal) = 4.184 kJ: 7776 kJ/day ÷ 4.184 kJ/kcal ≈ 1859 kcal/day.

Therefore, a 70 kg individual would need to consume approximately 1859 food calories per day to maintain their metabolic rate for resting and sleeping activities.