Answer to Question #102760 in Human Anatomy and Physiology for Nibedita Rudra

Question

When does RQ exceed 1? Explain why and how this happens.

Answer 1

Respiratory Quotient (RQ) is the ratio of the carbon dioxide eliminated orproduced in the body to the oxygen consumed by the body, that is RQ = CO₂ eliminated/ O₂ consumed .

During overfeeding lipogenesis is the metabolic process that takes place by which acetyl coA is converted to triglyceride for storage of fat, thus results in increased RQ. Molecules that are more oxidized such as glucose require less oxygen or oxygen consumption is less to be fully metabolized and have higher or increased RQ. So the positive energy balance will also lead to an increased RQ.