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A note on energy expenditure in walking on level ground and uphill

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Abstract

In walking, energy is wasted in the process of up-and-down movement of the center of gravity of the body during each step, as well as in the kinetic energy involved in the swinging forward of each extrèmity. In this paper the frictional loss in muscles is not considered. It is shown that for a prescribed available amount of metabolic power expenditure there exists an optimal size of the step and an optimal (maximal) speed of walking for the size of the step. Calculated values are of the correct order of magnitude. In walking uphill there exists a type of step for which there is no “lost” up-and-down motion of the center of gravity of the body. This step is optimal for walking up a hill of a given incline.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Committee on Mathematical Biology, The University of Chicago, Chicago, USA

    N. Rashevsky

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  1. N. Rashevsky
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Rashevsky, N. A note on energy expenditure in walking on level ground and uphill. Bulletin of Mathematical Biophysics 24, 217–227 (1962). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02477428

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02477428

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