Chapter 5

Energy, Work, and

Power of the Body
All the activities of the
body, including
thinking, is come from
energy conversions
(Oxygen
Consumption).
Under resting conditions about:
1) 25% of the body s̓ energy is being used
by skeletal muscles & the heart.
2) 19% is being used by the brain.
3) 10% is being used by the kidneys.
3) 27% is being used by the liver& spleen.
4) 5% is being used by the feces &urine.
5) Any energy that is left over is stored as
body fat.
Food is the fuel for the body
which is use the released
energy to:
1- Operate its varies organs.
2- Maintain the body with
constant temperature.
3- Do the external work.
The energy used to
operate the organs appears
as body heat.
Some of this heat is
useful in maintaining the
body at its normal
temperature.
There are two kinds of
energy that are of not use in
body function .
These two energy sources are
external to the body.
1. Radiant solar energy.
2. Heat energy from our
surrounding environment.
In addition to the total energy components
which is named:
1. Kinetic Energy: Energy of motion,
abbreviated KE, and equal to:
KE = mv2 /2
2. Potential Energy: Energy of position,
abbreviated PE.
PE = m g h
Conservation of Energy in the Body/
Change in stored energy in the body (i.e. food
energy, body fat, and body heat) = Heat lost
from the body + Work done.
This is known as the first law of
thermodynamics:
ΔU = ΔQ ̶ ΔW
ΔU: is the stored energy.
ΔQ: is the heat lost or gained.
ΔW: is the work done by the body in some
interval of time.
A body that is doing no work (ΔW=0) and at a
constant temperature, continues to lose heat to
surrounding environment, i.e. ΔQ= -ve. ,
Therefore, ΔU is also -ve. , indicating a decrease
in stored energy.

It is useful to consider the change of ΔU, ΔQ, and

ΔW in a short interval of time Δt.
ΔU / Δt = ΔQ / Δt - ΔW / Δt
ΔU/Δt: is the rate of change of stored energy.
ΔQ/Δt: is the rate of heat loss or gain.
ΔW/Δt: is the rate of doing work.
Energy Changes in the Body/
Energy of the body is the measure
of its ability to do work.
diet of 2500 C/day is 2500
kcal/day.
Where kcal per minute is the rate of
heat production.
Unit for energy in MKS system is
N.m or J and in CGS system is the erg.
Power is given in J/s or W.
met is a convenient unit for
expressing the rate of energy
consumption of the body.
met defined as: 50 kcal/m2 of body
surface area per hour. For normal
person the energy consumption is 1
met under resting conditions.
Atypical man has about 1.85m2 of
surface area (a woman has 1.4 m2),
and thus for a typical man 1 met is
about 92 kcal/hr or 107 W.
1 kcal = 4184 J
1 J = 107 erg
1 kcal/min = 69.7 W = 0.094 hp
100 W = 1.43 kcal / min
1 hp = 642 kcal / hr = 746 W
1 met=50 kcal/m2.hr=58 W/m2
1 kcal / hr = 1.162 W
Oxygen Consumption/
Lavoisier (in 1784) was the first to suggest that
food is oxidized
the oxidation occurs in the cell of the body which
increased during the process of digestion.
In the oxidation process by combustion, heat is
released.
The oxidation equation for 1 mole (180 g) of
glucose (C6H12O6) is:
C6H12O6 + 6O2 6H2O + 6CO2 + 686 kcal
(heat energy)
1 mole of gas has a volume of 22.4 litter (at
constant temperature & pressure).
Kilocalories of energy released per gram of fuel =
686 / 180 = 3.8
Kilocalories released per liter of O2 used =
686 / ( 6 x 22.4 ) = 5.1
Liters of O2 used per gram of fuel =
= 6 x 22.4 / 180 = 0.75
Liters of CO2 produced per gram of fuel
= 6 x 22.4 / 180 = 0.75
The various types of food gives
various energy released per liter of
oxygen consumed.
Therefore by measuring the
oxygen consume by the body we can
get a good estimate of the energy
released.
Stored energy (at constant temp.)
= Extracting energy from food +
Body fat.
At rest, the typical person consumes energy at
a rate of about 92 kcal/hr (107 W or 1 met). This
lowest rate of energy consumption, called Basal
Metabolic Rate (BMR).
BMR defined as the amount of energy needed
to perform minimal body function such as
breathing and pumping the blood through the
arteries under resting conditions.
Clinically BMR compared to normal values for
a person of the same sex, age, height, and
weight.
BMR depends primarily upon:
1) Thyroid function, a person with an overactive
thyroid has a higher BMR than a person with
normal thyroid function.
2) Temperature of the body, a small change in
temperature can produce a large change in
chemical reactions. Every 1̊C change cause
10% change in BMR.
3) Surface area (BMR change fast with surface
area) or the mass of the body (BMR not
change fast with mass or volume), where
BMR is proportional to mass3/4
From the oxygen consumption:
1. BMR is sometimes determined when resting.
2. We can estimate the food energy used in various
physical activities.

Weight loss through dieting and physical exercise

discussed in following example:
Example 1: Suppose you wish to lose 4.54 kg (10
lb) either through physical activity or by dieting.
a) How long would you have to work at an activity
of 15 kcal/min to lose 4.54 kg of fat?
From table 5.1, for fats the maximum
rate of energy 9.3 kcal/g .
If you worked for T minutes, then
T min x 15 kcal / min = 4.54 x 103 g x
9.3 kcal / g = 4.2 x 10 kcal
4

T = 2810 min = 47 hr
Note that a great deal of exercise is
needed to lose a few kg.
b) It is usually much easier to lose
weight by reducing your food
intake. If you normally use 2500
kcal/day, how long must you diet at
2000 kcal/day to lose 4.54 kg of fat?
T = energy of 4.54 kg fat / energy
deficit per day
T = 4.2 x 104 (kcal) / 5 x 102 (kcal /
day) = 84 day
 Work: is the force (F) moved through a
distance (Δx) in the direction of the
displacement. ΔW = F. Δx
Power: is the rate of doing work.
P = ΔW / Δt = F Δx / Δt = F ʋ
where ʋ is the velocity
External work is done when a person is
climbing a hill or walking up stairs.
W = weight x vertical distance moved
W=mxgxh
F. Δx = F Δx cos θ = F Δx cos90 = 0
The additional heat in the muscles is
removed by blood flowing through the
muscle by:
1) Conduction to the skin 2) Sweating
The efficiency of the human body
ϵ = (Work done / Energy consumed)x100%
Anaerobic work (without oxygen phase
work) is the process can only last about a
minute and leaving an oxygen deficit in the
body, while the aerobic work is the process
which is a long term activity requires oxygen
Example 2: Compare the energy required
to travel 20 km on a bicycle to that needed
by an auto for the same trip. Gasoline has
11.4 kcal / g and a density of 0.68 kg / liter.
Assume that the auto can travel 8.5 km on a
liter of gasoline.
The auto requires 2.35 liters to travel the 20
km.
m = ρ V = 0.68 kg/liter x 2.35 liters = 1.6 kg
of gasoline
E = 1.6 x 103 g x 11.4 kcal/g = 1.8 x 104 kcal for
20 km
According to table 5.2 , the
energy consumption for cycling
at 15 km / hr is 5.7 kcal/min, so
5.7 x 80 or 456 kcal is used in the
80 min (proposed time) needed
to travel the 20 km. It thus takes
almost 40 times more energy to
move by car than by bicycle.
The normal body contains
stored heat and constant
temperature 37 ̊C. The body
should have certain mechanism
to keep this temperature
constant despite of fluctuations
in the environment temperature.
These mechanisms are:
1- Radiation /
Body emit electromagnetic radiation of
energy proportional to the forth power
of absolute temperature. This given by
Stefan Boltzmann Law:
P = e ϭ T4
Where ϭ = 5.7 x 10-12 W/cm2 ok4
The emissivity e in the infrared region is
independent of the color of the skin
and is very nearly equal to 1.
The body receives radiant energy from surroundings
objects. The approximate difference between the heat
radiated by the body and the heat absorbed from
surroundings can be given by:-
Hr = Kr Ar e (Ts ̶ Tw)
Hr: the rate of energy loss (or gain) due to radiation.
Ar: effective area of the body emitting radiation.
Ts: skin temperature.
Tw: wall surrounding temperature.
Kr : radiation coefficient or constant that depends
upon various physical parameters = 5 kcal/m2. hr. ˚C.
2- Convection /
The heat loss due to convection (Hc) can be
given by: Hc = Kc Ac (Ts ̶ Ta)
Hc : Heat loss due to convection.
Kc: convection coefficient or constant that
depends upon the movement of the air and
equal to 2.3 kcal /m2. hr. ˚C when the body is
resting and there is no apparent wind.
Ac: the effective surface area.
Ts: the temperature of the skin.
T : the temperature of the air.
When the air is moving, the constant Kc
increases according to the equation:
Kc = 10.45 – v + 10 √v
this equation valid for v = (2.23 to 20) m/s
where v is the wind speed in m/s units.

The equivalent temperature due to moving

air is named the wind chill factor and is
determined by the actual temperature and
wind speed.
3-Perspiration /
It is very important in cooling the body at
doing exercised and hot weather because
each gram of evaporated water requires 580
kcal.

4- Respiration /
The moisture evaporated from lungs which
result heat loss of 14% of total body loss.
The previous mechanisms of losing heat
depends upon:-
1) The temperature of the surroundings.
2) Temperature.
3) Humidity.
4) Motion of the air.
5) Physical activity of the body.
6) The amount of body exposed.
7) The amount of insulation of body
(clothes and fat).
The hypothalamus of the brain
contains the body ̓ s thermostat.
For example, if the core
temperature rises, the
hypothalamus initiates sweating
and vasodilatation, which
increases the skin temperature.
In cold weather, the blood is returned to the
heart via internal veins that are in contact
with the arteries carrying blood to the
extremities is used to heat the returning
blood. This counter-current heat exchange
lowers the temperature of the extremities
and reduces the heat loss to the
environment. In the summertime or in a
warm environment, the returning venous
blood flows near the skin, raising the
temperature of the skin and thus increasing
the heat loss from the body.
The insulation of clothing in the heat loss
equations makes the calculations is more
difficult. The optimum skin temperature for
comfort is about 33oC.
This temperature can be maintained by suitably
adjusting the clothing to the activity. Studies
with clothing have led to the definition of a
unit of clothing, the clo, which corresponds to
the insulating value of clothing needed to
maintain a subject sitting at rest in comfort in
a room at 21oC with air movement of 0.1 m/s
and humidity of less than 50%.