Can’t find it know, but some dietitians made a study that concluded that could survive on NY Pizza (which I think meant with all the toppings). The only detail is that you needed a ridiculous amount of pizza to get all your nutrients and that would mean a lot of exercise to avoid obesity.
That said, bread, OJ, bananas and pizza are not normally the stuff you have too much of on a deserted island.
Up to 10% of a person’s body weight can be lost without side effects, but if more than 40% is lost, the situation is almost always fatal. Death usually results from heart failure, electrolyte imbalance, or low body temperature. Patients with semiconsciousness, persistent diarrhea, jaundice, or low blood sodium levels have a poorer prognosis.
Some children with protein-energy malnutrition recover completely. Others have many health problems throughout life, including mental retardation and the inability to absorb nutrients through the intestinal tract. Prognosis for all patients with malnutrition seems to be dependent on the age of the patient, and the length and severity of the malnutrition, with young children and the elderly having the highest rate of long-term complications and death.
Oh hell yeah, they get a special milkshake through a tube into the stomach. Protien, carbs, fats, vitamins and minerals are all essential.
I thought about protien deficency, but my google fu is weak, and all I could get are cites that pre-suppose an enegy deficency as well. Since we have an unlimited supply of carbs, that’s not much help. We will lose some protein, and menstruating dopers will lose more, but it could be awhile before we lose enough to really hurt, assuming we NEVER burn any for fuel.
It has to be. I can only use a scale as a cite, but I’ve lost around 58 percent of my own body weight. I guarantee it’s not fatal. In fact, I didn’t even lose hair like many people who go through such a change do.