~~This is not true.~~ (edited to clarify, see [2]) Robert Sapolsky's research approximated calorie expenditure using a highly inaccurate methodology. Troubat et

~~This is not true.~~ (edited to clarify, see [2]) Robert Sapolsky's research approximated calorie expenditure using a highly inaccurate methodology. Troubat et al. 2008[1] estimated calorie expenditure by measuring chess players' respiration and found that they only burned 10% more calories than normal. And anyway, the claim that chess players lose 1 pound per day does not pass a basic sanity check. 1 pound of fat = 3500 calories. If you raised all that energy instantaneously in the brain, it would raise brain temperature by around 2500 C (the average brain weighs ~1.5 kg and the brain is mostly water so I figure 1 Calorie ~= 1 degree C per kg). Obviously the energy doesn't release all at once and it wouldn't all be released by the brain, but that's still an implausibly high energy expenditure. [1] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18987876/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18987876/ [2] When I said "this is not true", I was thinking of the claim from the linked article that chess players burn 6000 calories per day, which is definitely false. Upon re-reading, I realized the parent comment did not actually make this claim. I am agnostic as to whether chess players lose 1 pound per day during tournaments, but if they do, it's definitely not because they're burning 1 extra pound of fat. It's plausible that they're eating much less and/or losing water weight.