"That suggests that global patterns of temperature and climate may have shaped human body types to look and perform the way they do.
"This study shows that variation in running performance among male triathletes is consistent with both Bergmann's and Allen's rules," he said. The study in PLOS ONE, Calsbeek said, is among the first to suggest that human physiology may be adapted to climate to optimize physical performance. A small number of studies from the mid-20th century suggested a link between physiology and climate, with people from cold or high-altitude regions having proportionately stockier builds.
These rules, however, are less understood in humans. Cold-adapted species tend to be burlier with thicker, shorter limbs to limit heat loss, while their sleeker counterparts in hotter climes are built to keep cool efficiently. Named for the 19th-century biologists Carl Bergmann and Joel Asaph Allen, the rules dictate that overall body size of animals-as well as the length and thickness of their limbs-correspond with climate. Study author Ryan Calsbeek, a professor of biological sciences at Dartmouth, said the study is among only a few that connects human physiology to what are known as Bergmann's and Allen's rules, which predict how animal species are distributed across various climates. This physiological advantage was detected in men, but not in women. Published in the journal PLOS ONE, the study found that taller, leaner runners with long limbs tended to excel in Ironman events held in warm climates, while marathoners with stockier builds and shorter limbs fared better in colder climates. But behind the training and resilience may be basic rules of ecology that help determine the victor long before contestants leave the starting line, according to research from Dartmouth College.Īn analysis of nearly 200 Ironman contestants over two decades suggests that performance-specifically in the marathon portion of the event-is linked to how an athlete's physique is adapted to shedding or retaining heat in certain climates.
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