Al G Smith

A quick Yahoo Answer…about a topic that is often misunderstood:

“Does cardio result in burning fat or calories?
i’m confused, help please, thank you!”

Both - a gram of fat has 9 kilo calories (commonly referred to as 9 calories) therefore burn 9 kcal through vigorous exercise and you burn a gram of fat!

In fact ANY type of exercise burns (causes the body to use energy) calories, as calories are a measurement of energy (the amount of energy needed to raise the temperature of one cc of water by 1degree C)…

Many/most foods contain ‘calorific values’ (that is to say contain potential calories of energy) that is why if you BURN more energy than you consume, you will lose weight. Because, once your food reserves have been burnt, the body draws on it reserves of fat…

Food that is consumed in excess to daily energy requirements is ’stored’ as fat (that is to say other constituents like carbohydrate and even protein are converted to fat for storage if not used) around the body, because it is a more ‘concentrated form’ of calorie storage. These resources can then be drawn on in times of need.

Sadly in Western developed countries we hardly ever experience a time of ‘real need’ unless we enforce it on ourselves…therefore we just keep getting FATTER!!

B.T.W.: The point of ‘cardio’ is that it means that your heart rate is up, meaning that it is working your heart muscles, hence good for your heart health.

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