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Commercial porters of eastern Nepal: Health status, physical work capacity, and energy expenditure
Author(s) -
Malville Nancy J.,
Byrnes William C.,
Lim H. Allen,
Basnyat Ramesh
Publication year - 2001
Publication title -
american journal of human biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.559
H-Index - 81
eISSN - 1520-6300
pISSN - 1042-0533
DOI - 10.1002/1520-6300(200101/02)13:1<44::aid-ajhb1006>3.0.co;2-d
Subject(s) - anthropometry , energy expenditure , work (physics) , casual , test (biology) , subsistence agriculture , medicine , physical therapy , demography , zoology , operations management , mathematics , geography , economics , engineering , biology , agriculture , political science , sociology , mechanical engineering , paleontology , archaeology , law , endocrinology
The purpose of the study was to compare full‐time hill porters in eastern Nepal with part‐time casual porters engaged primarily in subsistence farming. The 50 porters selected for this study in Kenja (elevation 1,664 m) were young adult males of Tibeto‐Nepali origin. Following standardized interviews, anthropometry, and routine physical examinations, the porters were tested in a field laboratory for physiological parameters associated with aerobic performance. Exercise testing, using a step test and indirect calorimetry, included a submaximal assessment of economy and a maximal‐effort graded exercise test. Energy expenditure was measured in the field during actual tumpline load carriage. No statistically significant differences were found between full‐time and part‐time porters with respect to age, anthropometric characteristics, health, nutritional status, or aerobic power. Mean V̇ O 2 peak was 2.38 ± 0.27 L/min (47.1 ± 5.3 ml/kg/min). Load‐carrying economy did not differ significantly between porter groups. The relationship between V̇ O 2 and load was linear over the range of 10–30 kg with a slope of 9 ± 4 ml O 2 /min per kg of load. During the field test of actual work performance, porters expended, on average, 348 ± 68 kcal/hr in carrying loads on the level and 408 ± 60 kcal/hr in carrying loads uphill. Most porters stopped every 2 min, on average, to rest their loads briefly on T‐headed resting sticks ( tokmas ). The technique of self‐paced, intermittent exercise together with the modest increase in energy demands for carrying increasingly heavier loads allows these individuals to regulate work intensity and carry extremely heavy loads without creating persistent medical problems. Am. J. Hum. Biol. 13:44–56, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.