Muscle vs fat weight?

D1craig · 20 Jun 2016 at 13:41

Why is it so difficult to find out the truth behind muscle weighing more than fat.

I am not stupid therefore I am not asking does one 1lb of muscle weigh more than 1 lb of fat... I am asking if 1 cubic inch of muscle weighs more than 1 cubic inch of fat.

Everything I find tells me about a lb being a lb... I've known that since I was fooled with the feather joke as a kid...

tom_e · 20 Jun 2016 at 13:42

https://www.google.co.uk/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=body fat density

In short yes muscle is more dense.

D1craig · 20 Jun 2016 at 13:52

I know found it out eventually I was just posting my frustration at all the hyperbole of them being the same...

tom_e · 20 Jun 2016 at 13:53

You weren't searching very hard then that took me all of 3 seconds

You want the answer to it's density not it's weight.

D1craig · 20 Jun 2016 at 13:55

Well I searched:
Does muscle weigh more than fat
Cubic inch fat vs muscle

Density never came to my mind but on both of them 2 searches the top 2 or 3 pages pretty much said a lb is a lb.

Lokken86 · 20 Jun 2016 at 14:42

1 pound of muscle = 1 pound of fat. But that 1 pound of muscle takes up less room.

D1craig · 20 Jun 2016 at 19:22

That's the obvious thing mate I doubt there any many people that think a lb of fat weighs more than a lb of muscle. Obviously...

The space it takes up is what really matters.

Somnambulist · 20 Jun 2016 at 21:23

Freefaller · 20 Jun 2016 at 22:58

Think of it this way, fat has more water molecules in it therefore more volume so more area.

Dave M · 21 Jun 2016 at 13:34

Water's actually pretty dense, oil (lipids) less so.

rubberduck · 23 Jun 2016 at 23:58

Well most oils float on top of water because they have a lower density and are imiscible i.e they do not mix like (lets say) alcohol and water... If you think of muscle as being 'mostly water' and fat as being 'mostly oil' you can perhaps see why a unit volume of fat weights less than a unit volume of oil... Obviously that is a horrible over simplification of fat tissue compared to muscle but as others has said it basically comes down to the bulk (pardon the pun) desnsity of the two 'materials' being different.