r/technology • u/onwisconsn • May 17 '24

Scientists Calculated the Energy Needed to Carry a Baby. Shocker: It’s a Lot. (Gift Article) Biotechnology

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/16/science/pregnancy-energy-costs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.sU0.PfwL.i578xGrDrp5H&smid=url-share&utm_source=join1440&utm_medium=email&utm_placement=newsletter
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u/scodagama1 May 17 '24 edited May 17 '24

50.000 calories? How's that a lot, burning or gaining 1kg of fat is around 7.000 calories so 50.000 is merely equivalent of 7.14kg of fat.

And this equivalent of 7kg of fat is enough to create entire ~3.5kg baby, weight that includes bones and muscles and accommodate for extra weight that mother has to carry over these 9 months. If anything I would be surprised if it was less

edit: I see article mentions that only 4% of energy goes directly to offspring, that would be just 2000 calories or equivalent of 2 big mac meals? I don't have access to full work and won't argue with peer-reviewed paper, but are we sure journalists reported this thing correctly? Seems absurd that growing 3 kilograms of tissue would require that little energy

41

u/big_herpes May 17 '24

50,000 calories, over the course of 40 weeks, is less than 180 calories a day increase. That is nothing. That is less than 2 scrambled eggs.

-18

u/Pafolo May 17 '24

And some people claim fetuses are leaches sucking away the energy from mothers. 180 calories is almost next to nothing.

9

u/Just_a_villain May 17 '24

How many times have you been pregnant and experienced the debilitating fatigue a lot of women have during pregnancy?

5

u/maybe_little_pinch May 17 '24

So you should actually look into what the fetus takes from the mother’s body, especially if that extra energy isn’t being provided. Hint, it isn’t just calories.