Weight facts

While investigating facts about Weight, I found out little known, but curios details like:

Koalas have one of the smallest brains in proportion to body weight of any mammal. They are so dumb, that when presented with leaves on a flat surface instead of on branches, they are unable to recognize them as food and will not eat them.

Sleeping under a weighted blanket can help reduce insomnia and anxiety

In my opinion, it is useful to put together a list of the most interesting details from trusted sources that I've come across. Here are 50 of the best facts about Weight I managed to collect.

1. About shrinkflation, the practice of stealthily reducing a product's size while maintaining its price so that consumers may unknowingly pay the same for less. According to the UK’s Office of National Statistics, 2,529 supermarket products decreased in size or weight between 2012 and 2017.

2. In 2010, a Kansas State University professor went on a Twinkie diet, where he ate mainly Twinkies, Oreos, and Doritos to prove to his students that calorie counting is the important part of losing weight, not nutritional content. He lost 27 pounds in 2 months.

3. Khalid bin Mohsen Shaari, once the fattest man on Earth at 610 kg (1,340 lb), he started losing weight in 2013 and by 2017 after only 4 years he had successfully lost 542 kg (1,195 lb) and reached an healthy weight of 68 kg (150 lb), it was the biggest weight loss ever recorded

4. During WWII, Russian soldiers took “heat pills” that kept them warm in the winter; however, they would also lose weight despite eating well. 2,4-dinitrophenol spikes metabolic rate as potential energy is lost as heat—it is banned as a weight loss aid (U.S.) as overdose can cook people to death.

5. During WWI, cotton was in high demand for the manufacture of uniforms and explosives. For bandages, doctors turned to using sphagnum moss. It can hold up to 22 times its own weight in liquid -- twice as absorptive as cotton. The moss is also antiseptic, making the surrounding environment acidic

6. The New Zealand town of Brightwater had 5 electric street lights in 1911 powered by a hydroelectric generator which was auto-controlled by a flock of chickens. At night, the chickens would go inside their coop and their weight would close an electric circuit, turning on the street lights.

7. Wind is essential for trees to reach maturity. The stress from wind allows trees to grow stronger, and without wind, a tree will eventually collapse under its own weight.

8. For every 1lb/kg that someone loses, 86% of it is breathed out of the body in the form of CO2. The body literally exhales the majority of its weight loss.

9. Skipping breakfast does not lead to weight gain, health issues or underperformance

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The Erfurt latrine disaster in 1184 happened at a party of nobles gathered in a room within the Church of St. Peter in Erfurt, right above the latrine pit of the monks. Due to the weight of the party the floor of the room collapsed and up to 100 nobles died plummeting in the fecal pool.

People all over the world believe chocolate can help you lose weight because a Journalist Scammed The Media Into Spreading Bad Chocolate Science to prove a point about non peer reviewed science articles. - source

Silly string has military usage in the detection of tripwires. The string would settle onto the ground in areas without tripwires, but catch on to any that is present. The silly string reveals the wire, but it will not set it off due to its light weight. - source

Premature babies who are lightly massaged a few times a day gain weight 47% faster and thus leave hospitals sooner, saving about $3,000 in hospital costs. 8 months later these infants continued to thrive.

Around roughly 4 pounds of your body weight is the weight of trillions of microorganisms in your gut - source

When humans lose weight 80% of the fat is exhaled through the lungs.

Pregnant women that frequently consumed diet beverages with artificial sweeteners were two times more likely to have babies who were overweight or obese at one year after birth. Also artificial sweeteners weaken the link in our brains between sweetness and calories which can lead to weight gain.

When we burn fat, the 'lost weight' is exhaled as carbon dioxide and water.

Each Planet Fitness has a "lunk alarm" that is used to shame weightlifters who grunt loudly or drop weights. Some bodybuilders have described their policies as "discriminatory."

The American Academy of Pediatrics condemns dieting and "weight loss talk" for teens, recommending instead family meals and positive body image to combat, rather than exacerbate, eating disorders and obesity.

Tic tacs are almost pure sugar but due to their weight are allowed to be labeled as zero sugar per serving.

Weight infographics

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