How long can you live without food? (2024)

Experts believe that as long as you have access to water, you can live without food for up to two months.

However, the time frame for surviving without food is not exact. Aside from a lack of robust scientific data on this, every person is different. Personal factors such as your starting weight play a role.

This article addresses the question of how long you can go without food. It also discusses some complications that can arise if you don't eat.

How long can you go without food?

Your body is very resourceful. When you go without food, your body can draw energy and fuel from its own fat. If necessary, it can also use muscle depots.

The following timeline of what happens to your body when you go without food is not exact, but it can give you an idea of ​​what might happen and when.

After 1 day

Your body normally usesglucoseor sugar, as the main source of energy. If you don't eat, your glucose reserves are used up within a day.

After a day without eating, your body releases a hormone calledglucagon. This hormone tells your liver to make glucose. This glucose is usually used to fuel your brain.

After 2 or 3 days

After two or three days without food, your body starts to break downadipose tissue. Your muscles use the fatty acids created during this process as their main fuel source.

Fatty acids are also used for its formationA ketonein the liver. Ketones are another substance the body can use for energy. These are released into the bloodstream. When the brain uses them for fuel, it doesn't need as much glucose.

After 7 days

When fatty acid reserves are depleted, the body switches to proteins. Depending on how little fatty tissue you had, it may only take a few days to reach this point. However, after a week, the most starved people's bodies will actively break down muscle to get protein.

After 14 days

As muscle breakdown accelerates, the body begins to lose heart, kidney and liver function. This is what can ultimately lead to death.

Because a starving body does not have the resources to stay healthy, infection is another possible cause of death.

What affects survival without food

Gender, age, starting weight and water consumption can all determine how long a person can go without food.

This is based on the limited research on this topic. For obvious ethical reasons, scientists cannot purposefully starve people to study this. Instead, many look to people who chose to starve themselves and were later evaluated by a doctor.

• Six: Females survive longer than males. This is true even in times of famine.
• The: Children are at greater risk of dying during famine.
• Starting weight:Research shows that thin people can normally tolerate a loss of 18% of their body weight and will become weak after 30 to 50 days without food. Death usually occurs between 43 and 70 days. In contrast, people who are obese may be able to tolerate more than a 20% loss of body mass. These time frames are probably long for them too.
  
• Water intake:In general, people can survive for long periods of time without food if they drink enough water.

Complications of going without food

Unless eating is resumed, starvation always leads to death. Certain complications may arise before death. The number of body systems affected increases as weight loss increases.

Some of these complications include:

• Bone loss
• Muscle weakness and wasting
• Being cold
• Thinning or hair loss
• Dry skin
• Constipation
• In women,loss of menstruation
• Fatigue, shortness of breath and palenessAnemialack of oxygen-carrying red blood cells

Cv

The body tries to fight hunger by producing glucose and breaking down fatty tissue. In later stages the muscles are broken down. But without food, these efforts will fail and someone will eventually die.