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Effect of posture and locomotion on energy expenditure
Author(s) -
Maurice Abitbol M.
Publication year - 1988
Publication title -
american journal of physical anthropology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.146
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1096-8644
pISSN - 0002-9483
DOI - 10.1002/ajpa.1330770207
Subject(s) - quadrupedalism , bipedalism , supine position , energy expenditure , doubly labeled water , body posture , physical medicine and rehabilitation , gait , energy metabolism , biology , anatomy , medicine , surgery , endocrinology
Energy expenditure for human adults and infants and for dogs was measured in resting (supine or lateral) posture, in bipedal posture and locomotion, and in quadrupedal posture and locomotion. Variations in respiratory and heart rate and in body temperature were utilized in this comparative study. Oxygen consumption was also measured in human adults. In human adults, bipedal posture and locomotion were shown to be much less energy‐consuming than corresponding quadrupedal posture and locomotion. The opposite was observed in adult dogs, where bipedalism was shown to be much more energy‐consuming than quadrupedalism. In addition, this study demonstrated, for human adults in their natural erect posture, an energy expenditure barely higher than in supine or lateral resting posture, while the dogs in their natural quadrupedal stance, the energy expenditure is much higher than in their resting posture. With respect to energy, therefore, humans are more adapted to bipedalism than dogs to quadrupedalism. Human children, at the transitional stage between quadrupedalism and bipedalism, have high and almost equal requirements for all postures and locomotions. This demonstrates, in term of energy, their incomplete adaptation to erect behavior.