In the past it has been postulated that the metabolism of hump fat could supply water to the fluid compartments when the camel is water deprived. While water is a by-product of carbohydrate and fat metabolism, it is now known that the act of gaining the oxygen required would cause the loss of more water than would be gained. Also, cellular metabolism creates heat and the camel’s survival strategy, especially during periods of water deprivation, is to reduce metabolic rate and hence heat production and water loss. Experimentally, camels have been water deprived until 30% of body weight has.
