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Macro- and micronutrient losses and nutritional status resulting from 44 days of total fasting in a non-obese man

Macro- and micronutrient losses and nutritional status resulting from 44 days of total fasting in a non-obese man
Macro- and micronutrient losses and nutritional status resulting from 44 days of total fasting in a non-obese man
OBJECTIVE: We wanted to establish and understand how the fractional losses of fat, fat-free tissues, and selected nutrients compare with that of body mass during a 44-d voluntary starvation (water only) and measurements of nutrient status. METHODS: We used anthropometry, sequential measurements of urinary substances during the fast, and blood analytes at the end of the fast. RESULTS: At the start of the fast, body weight was 96.0 kg (20% fat) and body mass index was 28.36 kg/m(2). The changes in body mass and arm anthropometry and in the pattern of urinary excretion of creatinine, ammonia, sodium, and ketone bodies during the study were consistent with starvation. At the end of the fast, body mass had decreased by 25.5%, of which a quarter to a third was due to loss of fat and the remainder to fat-free mass, predominantly muscle. There was an estimated loss of 20% of total body protein, 20-25% of fat-free mass, and a greater fractional loss of fat. Total energy expenditure was estimated to be 1638-2155 kcal/d of which 13.0-17.1% was from protein oxidation. Differential losses of minerals in urine ranged from 1.2% of estimated initial body content for manganese to 17.3% for selenium and 40.5% for zinc. At the end of the study, plasma concentrations of zinc and vitamin B12 were increased, those of copper, selenium, and manganese were normal, and there was biochemical evidence of deficiency in thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin K (prothrombin time). CONCLUSION: The data confirm and extend the available information on prolonged fasting in lean individuals and have relevance to the understanding of the physiologic responses to starvation and the associated homeostatic mechanisms
body weight, fat-free mass, copper, mass, protein, creatinine, methods, water, urine, responses, nutrition, zinc, time, anthropometry, plasma, weight, blood, nutritional status, body mass index, muscle, human, arm, deficiency, fasting, starvation
0022-3166
889-897
Jackson, J.M.
ae50e8e5-c471-4097-bfc0-09d3ba8254b6
Blaine, D.
38d10759-98cc-4a42-aa9b-5fd7bc7a5f5f
Powell-Tuck, J.
6f57cc20-df3f-44d3-a7b9-f8d39dd8f287
Korbonits, M.
337d818f-e8b2-4466-aa98-2c71948c4d9e
Carey, A.
db91a6ac-222c-4fa4-87d5-b1d01d625722
Elia, M.
964bf436-e623-46d6-bc3f-5dd04c9ef4c1
Jackson, J.M.
ae50e8e5-c471-4097-bfc0-09d3ba8254b6
Blaine, D.
38d10759-98cc-4a42-aa9b-5fd7bc7a5f5f
Powell-Tuck, J.
6f57cc20-df3f-44d3-a7b9-f8d39dd8f287
Korbonits, M.
337d818f-e8b2-4466-aa98-2c71948c4d9e
Carey, A.
db91a6ac-222c-4fa4-87d5-b1d01d625722
Elia, M.
964bf436-e623-46d6-bc3f-5dd04c9ef4c1

Jackson, J.M., Blaine, D., Powell-Tuck, J., Korbonits, M., Carey, A. and Elia, M. (2006) Macro- and micronutrient losses and nutritional status resulting from 44 days of total fasting in a non-obese man. Journal of Nutrition, 22 (9), 889-897.

Record type: Article

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: We wanted to establish and understand how the fractional losses of fat, fat-free tissues, and selected nutrients compare with that of body mass during a 44-d voluntary starvation (water only) and measurements of nutrient status. METHODS: We used anthropometry, sequential measurements of urinary substances during the fast, and blood analytes at the end of the fast. RESULTS: At the start of the fast, body weight was 96.0 kg (20% fat) and body mass index was 28.36 kg/m(2). The changes in body mass and arm anthropometry and in the pattern of urinary excretion of creatinine, ammonia, sodium, and ketone bodies during the study were consistent with starvation. At the end of the fast, body mass had decreased by 25.5%, of which a quarter to a third was due to loss of fat and the remainder to fat-free mass, predominantly muscle. There was an estimated loss of 20% of total body protein, 20-25% of fat-free mass, and a greater fractional loss of fat. Total energy expenditure was estimated to be 1638-2155 kcal/d of which 13.0-17.1% was from protein oxidation. Differential losses of minerals in urine ranged from 1.2% of estimated initial body content for manganese to 17.3% for selenium and 40.5% for zinc. At the end of the study, plasma concentrations of zinc and vitamin B12 were increased, those of copper, selenium, and manganese were normal, and there was biochemical evidence of deficiency in thiamine, riboflavin, and vitamin K (prothrombin time). CONCLUSION: The data confirm and extend the available information on prolonged fasting in lean individuals and have relevance to the understanding of the physiologic responses to starvation and the associated homeostatic mechanisms

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More information

Published date: 2006
Keywords: body weight, fat-free mass, copper, mass, protein, creatinine, methods, water, urine, responses, nutrition, zinc, time, anthropometry, plasma, weight, blood, nutritional status, body mass index, muscle, human, arm, deficiency, fasting, starvation

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 61245
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/61245
ISSN: 0022-3166
PURE UUID: bbe265a1-c08e-4b0b-90bd-189b04bcca32

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Date deposited: 12 Sep 2008
Last modified: 22 Jul 2022 21:14

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Contributors

Author: J.M. Jackson
Author: D. Blaine
Author: J. Powell-Tuck
Author: M. Korbonits
Author: A. Carey
Author: M. Elia

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