Farting burns a negligible amount of calories—estimates typically range from 0.5 to 2 calories per fart, depending on the force and duration of the gas release. To put this in perspective, you would need to fart hundreds of times to burn calories equivalent to a single bite of food.
The reason the calorie burn is so minimal is that flatulence is simply the expulsion of accumulated intestinal gas produced during digestion. The energy expended comes primarily from the muscular contraction needed to release the gas, which requires very little effort compared to other bodily activities. Most of your daily calorie expenditure comes from basal metabolism (maintaining basic body functions), physical activity, and the thermic effect of food (calories burned during digestion).
While social media and humorous articles sometimes exaggerate or make jokes about burning calories through flatulence, the scientific consensus is clear: passing gas contributes virtually nothing to your daily energy expenditure. Regular physical exercise, even light activity like walking, burns far more calories in a single session than you could ever burn through flatulence alone. For meaningful calorie expenditure and weight management, focus on diet quality, portion control, and regular physical activity rather than any biological functions like digestion or gas passage.