[clug] Re: Exercise and pay the bills! (linux Digest, Vol 74, Issue 5, Messages 2&9)

[steve jenkin]

Alex Satrapa wrote on 9/2/09 11:45 AM:

> Though I wonder whether the human body is as efficient as a coal-fired
> power plant when it comes to electricity output per kilogram of
> carbondioxide generated.

Some uncharitable people would say that politicians are "oxygen thieves"
and in this context that translates to 0% efficiency on CO^2 generation.

Seriously, though:

 When comparing person in car, on bike, walking, you have to calculate
the increase over Basal Metabolic Rate, not the raw input.

"Doing Nothing" accounts for most of our energy input for us mostly
sedentary Westerners :-)

 On energy use: It has to equal energy input, or there's weight loss or
gain (but I'm sure weight is affected by many other things).

Wikipedia quotes (input) 800Kcal (3.35MJ or 0.93kW-hr) as 'very low
calorie diet'. 10MJ (2400kCal) seems very high for 'ordinary' Western folk.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Very_Low_Calorie_Diet>

People on calorie restricted diets do age more slowly, but the flip side
is they cannot output as much physical energy/work. Which for most of us
is not an issue - but is a show stopper for athletes (amateur or not).

Vegetarians/Vegans suffer another effect - the energy cost of digesting
food.
Some foods are nett negative energy sources - sweet potato, IIRC.
They take more energy to digest than they yield - but there's more to
nutrition than calories.

A link from The Font of All Undergraduate Wisdom:
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Okinawa_diet>


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Steve Jenkin, Info Tech, Systems and Design Specialist.
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