It’s often said that pregnant women are eating for two, and while that’s technically accurate, it (unfortunately) doesn’t mean they get to consume double the calories in the name of growing another person. As a new video from Discovery News points out, it’s really more like eating for 1.15 people.
The Discovery team determined that it takes 75,000 calories to grow a baby, which is an average of about 300 extra calories per day over the course of a pregnancy. That’s really only a snack or two — or one piece of office birthday cake — per day. But, again, that’s the average amount. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says most women only need to consume an extra 340 or 450 calories per day during the second and third trimesters, respectively. (The fetus doesn’t require additional nutrition during the first three months when it is but a wee nugget.)
A food baby, on the other hand, is characterized by much more rapid growth. How many calories would it take to create such a thing in mere hours? While the scientific community is mum on this matter, anecdotal evidence suggests that it would take a least one Chipotle order to result in an abdominal protrusion and ensuing heartburn. The next time a co-worker sweetly announces that they’ve left cupcakes in the kitchen after you just polished off a burger and fries for lunch, remind yourself that you created that food baby and it needs nourishment.
