The term for the process of converting food into energy is cellular respiration. This is a set of metabolic reactions in cells that break down food molecules like glucose through controlled oxidation to produce chemical energy stored in ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which cells use to power various functions
. Cellular respiration occurs in multiple stages:
- Digestion breaks down food into smaller molecules (amino acids, sugars, fatty acids).
- Glycolysis in the cytosol breaks glucose into pyruvate.
- The citric acid cycle (Krebs cycle) and oxidative phosphorylation take place in mitochondria, producing most of the ATP
This process requires oxygen in aerobic respiration, making it efficient at harvesting energy from food. The energy released fuels all cellular activities and sustains life
. In a broader sense, metabolism encompasses all chemical reactions that convert food into energy, including both the breakdown (catabolism) and building up (anabolism) of molecules
. However, the specific term for the energy conversion process is cellular respiration.
