Are you smarter than a 5th grader: Health edition

WebMD with a takeoff from the Fox show. A sample question:

If you eat just one candy bar a day in excess of your calorie needs, in a year you will put on:
1. 15 pounds
2. 26 pounds
3. 52 pounds

Comments

Anonymous
A silly question. Doesn’t the answer depend on metabolism, age and activity level? Wouldn’t a postmenopausal woman gain a lot more than a 15-year old? Or is the question geared to a typical 5th grader?
The Medicine Man
Assuming that the average candy bar contains around 200 calories (they range from 100 to over 400) then a rough calculation is as follows:
200 Cal/Day x 365 Days/Year = 73,000 extra Cal/Year.
A pound of fat contains roughly 3,500 calories.
So 73,000 Cal/Year / 3,500 Cal/LBS corresponds to about 21 pounds. So I’m betting the answer is 2, 26 pounds. (They must be 250 calorie bars.)
These numbers assume no change in the patients exercise level or basal metabolic rate and that the weight increase is predominantly in fat.
John

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