How come your body burns 2000 calories a day by existing, but running a mile only burns 100 calories?
In: Biology
Also you’re the product of millions of years of evolution. So at each of those branching points 1 or more traits was selected for.
So at rest you’re using a lot more energy keeping things going than say a crocodile.
Running humans are fairly efficient, as hunting characteristics got selected for us, unlike for example the gorilla’s ancestors that were able to survive mostly just eating plants.
You need extra energy for the running, but if it required huge amounts then you’d be exhausted before you caught anything.
Without big claws or teeth we either needed to outlast our prey, or use our brains to devise weapons and traps to assist. So a relatively large proportion of our energy is devoted to maintaining a brain capable of planning for those future events and coordinating with the rest of our group (family, tribe etc) for success.
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