It would seem that a straightforward answer to the question "Does muscle burn fat?" would be easy enough to determine, but the physiology of weight loss is both complex and simple. What is certain is that a pound weighs a pound, whether it is muscle or fat. Muscle tissue is more dense, or compact, than fat tissue. This means that generally one pound of muscle tissue will be of less volume than one pound of fat. Muscle tissue is firmer than fat tissue, aiding in giving definition to your body's silhouette.
Background
Weight loss, and therefore fat loss, is the result of simple math. To lose one pound of weight, you must use an extra 3,500 calories. This can be accomplished through the subtraction of calories in your daily diet and the addition of physical activity to your daily routine. Weight loss can also be accomplished by either reducing calories alone or adding physical activity alone, but a combination of the two is effective and beneficial to your overall good health.
Effects
Calories equal energy, so to burn calories, you must expend physical energy. Muscle cells require energy. Each cell has its own "engine," the mitochondria, which require energy for use. Physical activity causes the muscle mitochondria to break down triglycerides for energy. Triglycerides are composed of three fatty acids and one sugar. The breakdown of triglycerides results in the burning of fat. As the triglycerides are broken down, the mitochondria add oxygen to the molecular mixture, and energy is produced as a result. Energy equals calories. Calories expended lead to weight loss; weight loss is the loss of fat.
Benefits
The more lean muscle your body has, the higher your resting metabolic rate will be. The metabolic rate is essentially "the energy expended to maintain all bodily functions at rest," as stated by Lawrence Herrera and Len Kravitz in their July 2009 article "Yes, You do Burn Fat During Resistance Exercise" published in the "Journal of Applied Physiology." As you increase your muscle tissue, you becomes more efficient at expending energy and burning calories.
Expert Insight
The online "Journal Of Applied Physiology," a publication of the National Institutes of Health published in its March 2002 edition the results of a study to determine the effects of exercise intensity on energy expenditure throughout a 24-hour period. The study, which included eight men and eight women, measured the energy expenditure in 24-hour periods for three different levels of exercise: resting, moderate exercise and vigorous exercise. When all the data were complied and analyzed, the researchers concluded that exercise intensity has no effect on energy expenditure throughout the rest of the day for men or women.
Bottom Line
Does muscle burn fat? Yes and no. Yes, indirectly because muscle tissue is efficient at producing energy---which means burning calories---and when enough calories are burned, weight loss and loss of fat occurs. No is also correct, however, because it is not a direct cause-and-effect relationship between muscle use and fat loss.
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