(upbeat bouncy music)
- [Background announcer]
America's best aerobic athlete!
- That's an excellent
1980's aerobic action,
and I know it's raising
some startling questions
about humanity's exercise obsession.
- But what happens to the fat?
Where does it go when you burn it?
- [Male Announcer] You
might remember that episode
of Oprah where she hauled out a wagon
containing 67 pounds of fat to illustrate
how much weight she'd lost.
- [Female Announcer] We
all know it didn't leave
her body like that, but
just how does fat exit
the body when we burn it off?
- [Male Announcer] You
might be surprised to hear
that despite all of
this, a startling number
of health professionals
don't know the answer
to that question.
= [Female Announcer]
According to a 2014 study
from Australia's University
of New South Wales
published in the British Medical Journal,
the most common misconception expressed
by more than half of the 150 doctors,
dieticians and personal trainers surveyed,
is that your body burns
it all up into energy.
- [Male Announcer] Yes, feel that burn!
But the truth is that most of the fat mass
is breathed out as carbon dioxide.
That's right, you exhale
it right into thin air.
- [Female Announcer] To
put that in perspective,
the Australian researchers
traced every atom's
exit pathway from the
body and discovered that
when 10 kg or 22 lbs of
fat are fully oxidized,
about 8.4 kg or 18.5 lbs of fat departs
through your breath as carbon dioxide.
- [Male Announcer] The
remaining 1.6 kg or 3.5 lbs
drains out as good ol'
H20, and that includes
elimination via urine,
sweat, feces, breath,
tears, or any other
body fluid that might be
a part of your daily workout routine.
- [Female Announcer] So
remember that the next time
you drop a few pounds at the gym.
Lungs are the primary excretory organ
for fat, no matter how
hard you're sweating
it to the oldies.
- [Female And Male
Announcers Alternating Words]
You have thoughts and
feelings, let us know
in the comments below.
- [Background Male Announcer]
Jumping rope with bad form
will ultimately wear you
out with little to show
for your effort.
- Only 1/5 of women who work out regularly
strength train, which
raises the question...
- Are women scared of lifting weights?
- [Background Male Announcer] As with most
exercise it's important to remember that
you are not in a race.
Feel free to go slow and steady,
feeling your abdominal muscles flex.
