Q: I am 15 years old. I weigh 56 kg in the morning. I eat as much as I can everyday. I am on a mission to get fat. By night-time, my weight goes to 58-60 kg. But after going to the toilet the next morning, my weight comes back to 56 kg. I have repeated this for weeks, but to no avail. Where does the food go?

A:The food we eat gets utilised by the body to carry out daily activities. When we eat food, it gets digested in our body and absorbed as energy, fats, minerals and vitamins. We need these nutrients for a healthy body and also to carry on every activity like walk, run, sit, etc. After the food is digested, the waste material is excreted out of the body. This is how we maintain our weight. If our bodies were not made to follow this basic system, we will gain weight every time we eat. In simple words, food that goes inside our body, gets utilised and the waste is excreted out. This is how we maintain our weight. You are still young to understand all the body systems but I am sure you will learn more in higher grades/classes and all these concepts will become much clear.