ScienceDaily Says: ScienceDaily (Mar. 19, 2007) — Scientists have known for years that the energy cost of walking and running is related primarily to the work done by muscles to lift and move the limbs. But how much energy does it actually take to get around? Does having longer legs really make a difference?

 

Herman Pontzer, Ph.D., assistant professor of physical anthropology in Arts & Sciences, has developed a mathematical model for calculating energy costs for two and four-legged animals. His research was published in a recent issue of The Journal of Experimental Biology.

 

“All things being equal, leg length is one of the major determinants of cost,” says Pontzer, “If two animals are identical except for leg length, the animal with longer legs is more efficient.”

 

To test his equation, Pontzer put people, goats and dogs on a treadmill in his lab, and measured how much oxygen each used during walking and running at various speeds. He found that the LiMB model explained more of a variation in locomotor cost than other predictors, including contact time and body mass, showing that it worked for animals with four legs as well as two.

 

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