[Pseudoscience-is-malarkey (OP)]

Earlier today I heard an anti-obesity activist and personal trainer say just that. He also alleged that their farts smell worse.

[Bored chemist]

We live in a world where fat is normal, so your question makes no sense.
Well. that's interesting.
Someone has edited the title of the thread.
Fair enough, it was daft- as I pointed out.

However if the OP was accurate then it isn't any more.

I heard an anti-obesity activist and personal trainer say just that

Well, did they say that fat people fart more than "thinner" people or fat people fart more than "normal" people?

It may be relevant to people's view of how likely the trainer is  to be reflecting the facts or their bias.

[Kryptid]

I supposed it's possible, given that obese people would be more likely to overeat than thin people (not accounting for metabolic differences). More food should lead to more gas (which, of course, also depends upon the kind of food consumed).

[Bored chemist]

I'm told that a vegetarian diet is healthy and that being overweight is unhealthy.
That suggests that those on a vegetarian diet are less likely to be overweight.

However, my observation is that vegetarians fart a lot- I think it's the beans.

[alancalverd]

Congratulations, BC! You now hold the forum record for sequential nonsequiturs! But I'm reminded of the refrain:

Beans, beans, good for your heart
The more you eat, the more you fart
The more you fart, the better you feel
So eat Heinz beans with very meal

that somehow never made the transition from the rugby club to a radio advert. A great loss to our choral heritage.

[charles1948]

Is there any scientific evidence that beans induce gastric wind?

Or is it just a myth.  I eat baked beans as part of my breakfast every day.  They don't seem to produce unusual wind.

Nor do other vegetables that I eat regularly.  Such as Brussel sprouts. The sprouts are delicious, and don't make wind.

Perhaps we are faced by a meme.  Which is based entirely in the imagination. 

[Bored chemist]

Is there any scientific evidence that beans induce gastric wind?

Yes.

You now hold the forum record for sequential nonsequiturs!

Don't fret; I'm sure you will regain it soon.

[charles1948]

Is there internecine war on this site

[alancalverd]

There's a difference between idiocide and banter. BC is a good bloke who gets wound up if I don't admit to an obvious error and commit verbal harakiri, and I'm still searching for the tongue-in-cheek emoticon.

[charles1948]

So it is internecine war.  Will BC win?  I hope so.  He's the best .

[alancalverd]

I see it as banter. We are good friends who disagreed about Brexit and have the good sense to await the outcome of the actual experiment now it has begun.

Unlike people who try to tell me what I think.

[Bored chemist]

Actually, I'm waiting for anyone to propose a valid mechanism by which Brexit could be a good thing (except for some tiny minority).

On a vaguely related note, I had to look up internecine . I gather it means "destructive to both sides in a conflict.".
Doesn't that cover any and all wars?

[Bored chemist]

I'm still searching for the tongue-in-cheek emoticon.

It's next to the "conservation of angular momentum " emoticon.

[alancalverd]

OK, here's mine. But you have to admit that my error did generate plenty of debate.

Now show me yours!

[maike11]

Hi,

how does this guy who said that know all that stuff? And secondly, why do you trust him?
If you're thin, it doesn't necessarily mean, that you are healthy. It probably means, that something is wrong with your eating habits or your digestion. If you eat healthy and fresh foods, your body will respond to it by adapting I guess.

Bloating or farting depends on your digestive system as well. If you have little undigested food waste in your intestines, you will suffer from bloating. But that also depends on the gut bacteria you have and how effective they are. There are so many reasons, why people fart and why their farts smell. It's too easy to go by the saying, bigger people fart a lot more than thin people.

[scientistlover1]

Hey Guys,
I agree with maike11. Up to 1.5 litres of intestinal gas are produced during the digestion process of a single meal. Most of it is carbon dioxide and is absorbed by the cells in the intestinal wall. Via the blood, the gas reaches the liver and then the lungs, where it is exhaled. And the rest has to go somewhere too.
Gas formation in the gastrointestinal tract arises from 4 main sources
- from swallowed air
- by bacterial fermentation of carbohydrates in the large intestine
- by a chemical reaction involving the formation of carbon dioxide from gastric and pancreatic secretions
- when gas spreads from the blood to the intestine
I think how much you fart depends a lot on what you've eaten and how you've eaten and not if you're thin or thick.
Best regards.