The bulk of the calories you need can be obtained from fat reserves in your body, but total starvation is lethal in 8–12 weeks regardless of your starting weight.
What happens to your body in starvation?
Your body will have depleted all glycogen reserves in the liver and muscles within one to two days of your last meal. The majority of your energy needs will be satisfied by converting stored fat into ketones, but since red blood cells and brain cells can’t metabolise ketones, muscle must be broken down in order to supply them with glucose.
Why muscle matters more than fat?
If you don’t have enough muscle, you can still starve to death even if you have a lot of body fat to burn since your heart and other important muscles will no longer function. Due to this, regardless of your starting weight, doctors typically view weight reduction of 40% to 50% as life-threatening.
When fat helps you live longer
Your body will die within eight to twelve weeks from total starvation. However, under less extreme circumstances if you are still getting some calories, especially if these calories have a high protein content, being fat will help you live longer since your body can get most of the calories it needs from stored fat.
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