I mean specifically for very young children such as toddlers. It seems that, as a rule of thumb, they are much more physically motivante than the average (say, 30 years old or so) adults, barring those who actually practice regular exercise. Some children seem like they can run, climb and jump with a consistent timing for longer than many adults.
Is it because our own disposition has been ruined by a generally sedentary lifestyle?
In: Biology
Is the assertion even true? Any healthy adult can easily walk/jog/bike for way longer or further than a child. My daughter has WAY more mental energy for play than I do but her physical stamina is nowhere near an adult in measurable activities. And in most endurance sports kids are known to totally suck. You peak surprisingly late in life with cardiovascular endurance.
Another factor I haven’t seen mentioned is that toddlers are hyper in bursts. They appear to have massive amounts of energy because they are very visible when they have the energy, then they need a nap and are less noticeable while they have the nap.
Go on a long hike with a toddler and a toddler will be exhausted before the average moderately fit adult is barely tired. Adults have far more slow burn stamina.
I didn’t see anyone mention it, but afaik, the bigger you get, the more energy you needs to move/sustain yourself, and it’s exponential.
A kid who never trained can dead hang for almost a min, while an adult will struggle.
So I think we as adults just tire ourself faster unless we condition ourself to do that.
Weight is a factor too. Because of the square-cube law the tinier person has an easier time moving around. This is why there are not a lot of elite distance runners over 6 ft.
Humans reach their metabolic peak at around age 2. This is actually why some drugs you have to dose at a higher mg/kg for a young child than you would for a full grown adult.
I am still convinced that the only explanation is that they siphon the energy away from the parents, like little energy vampires.
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