Chapter 7, Problem 84GP

Energy requirements of the body. A 70 kg human uses energy at the rate of 80 J/s, on average, for just resting and sleeping. When the person is engaged in more strenuous activities, the rate can be much higher. (a) If the individual did nothing but rest, how many food calories per day would she or he have to eat to make up for those used up? (b) In what forms is energy used when a person is resting or sleeping? In other words, what happens to those 80 J/s? (Hint: What kinds of energy, mechanical and otherwise, do our body components have?) (c) If an average person rested and did other low-level activity for 16 hours (which consumes 80 J/s) and did light activity on the job for 8 hours (which consumes 200 J/s), how many calories would she or he have to consume per day to make up for the energy used up?