Wives may be better at lugging heavy loads than husbands, according to new research。

Scientists studying the physics of backpacking found that smaller hikers can be better equipped to carry heavy loads than people with larger frames。

The reason may be linked to the fact that walkers carrying backpacks also have to haul their own body weight, scientists believe。

Hiking guidelines say that the weight of a pack should correspond to body size, with smaller individuals bearing lighter burdens。

Professor Michael O'Shea, from Kansas State University, US, who conducted the research using a computer model, said: "Online advice from several sources was somewhat misleading in suggesting that pack weight should be a certain per cent of a person's weight. However, as the size of any animal increases, strength increases more slowly than body weight - the reason why tiny ants can carry a disproportionately heavy load compared to their weight。

"Overall strength of an individual does not determine how heavy a backpack a person can comfortably carry."

Prof O'Shea noticed that some of the smaller hikers could carry greater back weights than larger students with similar fitness levels。

Incorporating pack weight and body proportion data, he came up with an equation to determine the maximum rucksack load suitable for a person of given size。

據(jù)《每日電訊報(bào)》報(bào)道，妻子的負(fù)重能力可能更勝于丈夫。

科學(xué)家研究背包客身體狀況發(fā)現(xiàn)，身材矮小的徒步旅行者似乎比身材高大的徒步旅行者更能負(fù)重。

科學(xué)家們相信這個(gè)結(jié)果與如下事實(shí)有關(guān)：徒步旅行者攜帶背包的同時(shí)也負(fù)擔(dān)著自己的體重。

徒步旅行指南說(shuō)道背包的負(fù)重應(yīng)與自身體型相對(duì)應(yīng)，身材矮小的人就應(yīng)該背更輕負(fù)重。

來(lái)自美國(guó)堪薩斯州立大學(xué)的邁克爾·奧謝教授運(yùn)用電腦模型完成了該項(xiàng)研究，他說(shuō)：“網(wǎng)上那些認(rèn)為身材矮小的人應(yīng)該負(fù)重更輕完全是誤導(dǎo)性的建議。然而，事實(shí)并非如此，隨著體重的增加，力量的提升并沒(méi)有與之成正比，這也就是為什么螞蟻能夠負(fù)重起遠(yuǎn)重于它體重的東西的原因。”

“一個(gè)人的力氣并不決定他能負(fù)載多重的東西。”

奧謝教授發(fā)現(xiàn)身材矮小的徒步旅行者似乎比身材高大的徒步旅行者更能負(fù)重。

通過(guò)比對(duì)負(fù)重與體重?cái)?shù)據(jù)，他得出一個(gè)關(guān)于背包最大負(fù)重量與人體重量的等式關(guān)系。