Does Farting Make You Weigh Less? The Scientific Truth

The Short Answer: Yes, But...

Technically, yes, you do weigh less after farting. When you expel gas from your body, you're removing mass, which means your weight decreases. However - and this is a big however - the amount is so incredibly tiny that it's essentially meaningless for weight loss purposes.

We're talking about fractions of a gram per fart. To put this in perspective, you'd need to fart continuously for years to lose even a single pound. So if you were hoping to skip the gym and just toot your way to your goal weight, I have disappointing news.

The Science of Fart Weight

What's in a Fart?

To understand how much a fart weighs, we need to know what it's made of:

• Nitrogen (59%): From swallowed air
• Hydrogen (21%): Produced by gut bacteria
• Carbon dioxide (9%): From bacterial fermentation
• Methane (7%): Only in about 1/3 of people
• Oxygen (4%): From swallowed air
• Trace gases (<1%): Including the smelly sulfur compounds

The Volume Question

The average fart has a volume of about 30-120 milliliters (ml), with the typical fart being around 50 ml. Daily gas production ranges from 500-2000 ml, spread across those 14 average daily farts.

Calculating Fart Weight

Using the ideal gas law and the composition of intestinal gas, scientists have calculated that:

• Average fart volume: 50 ml
• Average gas density at body temperature: ~1.1 mg/ml
• Average fart weight: ~0.055 grams

That's about 0.0001 pounds or roughly the weight of a small raindrop!

The Math: How Many Farts to Lose a Pound?

Let's do some ridiculous but fun math:

• 1 pound = 453.6 grams
• Average fart weight = 0.055 grams
• Farts needed to lose 1 pound = 453.6 ÷ 0.055 = 8,247 farts

At 14 farts per day (the average), you'd need to fart for 589 days straight - over a year and a half - to lose just one pound through flatulence alone. And that's assuming you don't eat or drink anything that would add weight back!

Annual Fart Weight Loss

If we calculate your total annual gas expulsion:

• 14 farts/day × 365 days = 5,110 farts per year
• 5,110 farts × 0.055 grams = 281 grams per year
• That's only 0.62 pounds per year!

But Wait, There's More to Consider!

The Density Dilemma

Here's where it gets interesting. Some gases in farts are actually lighter than air:

• Methane: Less dense than air (floats)
• Hydrogen: Much less dense than air (floats)
• Carbon dioxide: Denser than air (sinks)

If your farts contain a lot of methane or hydrogen, you might technically weigh MORE after farting because you've released buoyant gases that were providing slight lift! This is why the actual weight change is even more negligible than our calculations suggest.

The Bloating Factor

While farting doesn't significantly reduce weight, it does reduce volume. When you're bloated, gas distends your intestines, making your belly protrude. Releasing this gas doesn't make you lighter, but it does make you less bloated, which can make you look and feel slimmer.

Why the Myth Persists

1. The Feeling of Relief

After a good fart, especially when bloated, you feel lighter and more comfortable. This psychological relief gets confused with actual weight loss. Your pants might fit better, but the scale won't show a difference.

2. Confusion with Bowel Movements

People often conflate farting with pooping. While a bowel movement can result in noticeable weight loss (typically 0.25-1 pound), farting alone doesn't come close.

3. Water Weight Misconceptions

Some believe that gas retention leads to water retention. While bloating can involve both gas and water, farting only releases gas, not the excess water that might be causing weight gain.

4. The Comedy Factor

Let's face it - the idea of farting your way to weight loss is funny. The myth persists partly because it's entertaining to imagine tooting away those extra pounds.

What About Burping?

Burps are generally larger in volume than farts (50-400 ml), but the gas is mostly swallowed air, which is less dense. A typical burp might weigh 0.05-0.4 grams. Combined with farting, you're still looking at negligible weight loss.

Fun fact: Cows burp and fart out about 250-500 liters of methane daily. That's roughly 180-360 grams of gas - still less than a pound!

The Real Ways Gas Affects Your Weight

1. Appetite and Eating Habits

Excessive gas and bloating can affect your appetite. Some people eat less when gassy, leading to actual caloric deficit and weight loss - but it's not the farting itself causing the loss.

2. Gut Health and Metabolism

The bacteria that produce gas also influence your metabolism. A healthy gut microbiome can improve weight management, but again, the farts are just a byproduct, not the cause.

3. Exercise and Movement

Activities that help release gas (walking, yoga, stretching) also burn calories. The weight loss comes from the movement, not the gas release.

Fun Fart Weight Facts

• If farts were pure methane, they'd actually make you heavier when released due to buoyancy
• Astronauts' farts weigh the same but behave differently in zero gravity
• The world's longest recorded fart (2 minutes 42 seconds) would have weighed about 2 grams
• If you could capture and weigh all your yearly farts, they'd weigh less than a can of soda
• Termites collectively produce 20 million tons of methane annually through farting
• A blue whale's fart bubble can be 20 feet wide but still weighs less than a hamburger

Could You Actually Fart Yourself Lighter?

Theoretically, if you could somehow:

• Produce only hydrogen gas (the lightest element)
• Store massive amounts internally (impossible and dangerous)
• Release it all at once

You still wouldn't achieve meaningful weight loss. Plus, you'd essentially be a human Hindenburg, which presents obvious safety concerns!

The Calorie-Burning Truth

While farting doesn't make you lose weight, your body does burn calories producing the gas:

• Digestion uses about 10% of your daily calories
• Gut bacteria fermentation requires energy
• The muscular action of farting burns roughly 0.1 calories

So you burn more calories making the fart than you lose in weight from releasing it!

What Actually Helps with Weight Loss

Since farting won't slim you down, here's what actually works:

• Caloric deficit: Burn more calories than you consume
• Regular exercise: Both cardio and strength training
• Healthy diet: Whole foods, appropriate portions
• Adequate sleep: 7-9 hours nightly
• Stress management: Chronic stress promotes weight gain
• Hydration: Water helps metabolism and reduces bloating
• Consistency: Sustainable habits over quick fixes

The Bottom Line (Pun Intended)

Does farting make you weigh less? Technically yes, but the amount is so minuscule it's scientifically irrelevant. You lose more weight breathing (exhaling CO2 and water vapor) than you do farting. You lose more weight trimming your fingernails than from a week's worth of farts.

The idea of farting for weight loss belongs in the same category as other myths like "muscle weighs more than fat" (a pound is a pound) or "you can target fat loss in specific areas" (you can't).

So go ahead and let it rip for comfort, health, and social courtesy (when appropriate), but don't count on flatulence as a weight loss strategy. Your farts might be powerful enough to clear a room, but they're not powerful enough to affect the scale. If you want to lose weight, you'll have to do it the old-fashioned way - through diet and exercise, not through your fashioned wind!