School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK.
Department of Anthropology, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Am J Phys Anthropol. 2021 Jul;175(3):646-655. doi: 10.1002/ajpa.24276. Epub 2021 Mar 25.
Life history theory, a branch of evolutionary theory, predicts the existence of trade-offs in energetic allocation between competing physiological functions. The core metabolic cost of self-maintenance, measured by resting metabolic rate (RMR), represents a large component of human daily energy expenditure. Despite strong selective pressures for energetic frugality and high observed interindividual variation in RMR, the link between RMR and energetic allocation to life-history traits remains understudied in humans.
In a sample of 105 (m = 57, f = 48), we investigated the relationship between adult RMR and investment in growth quality, as measured by fluctuating asymmetry (FA).
Measurement of RMR and FA in university rowers revealed a significant positive correlation amongst males (n = 57, r = 0.344, p = 0.005, 1-tailed; standardized 95% CI, 0.090 to 0.598). Convincing evidence for a correlation among females was not found (n = 48, r = 0.142, p = 0.169, 1-tailed, standardized 95% CI, -0.152 to 0.435).
The data suggest that low-quality asymmetrical growth is associated with later-life metabolic inefficiencies in males. Energetic investment in processes (likely concerning the stress-response) unrelated to growth during childhood may thereby trade-off against adult metabolic efficiency. We suggest that the presence of a relationship between RMR and FA in males but not females may be explained by the additional metabolic strain associated with larger body size and increased male muscularity, which may amplify the inefficiencies arising from low-quality growth.
生命史理论是进化理论的一个分支，它预测了在相互竞争的生理功能之间进行能量分配时存在权衡。自我维持的核心代谢成本，用静息代谢率（RMR）来衡量，代表了人类日常能量消耗的很大一部分。尽管存在强烈的节约能量的选择压力，并且观察到 RMR 个体间存在很大差异，但 RMR 与生命史特征的能量分配之间的联系在人类中仍研究不足。
在 105 名个体（男性 57 名，女性 48 名）中，我们调查了成年 RMR 与生长质量投资之间的关系，生长质量由波动不对称性（FA）来衡量。
对大学赛艇运动员的 RMR 和 FA 进行测量，发现男性（n = 57，r = 0.344，p = 0.005，单侧；标准化 95%置信区间，0.090 至 0.598）之间存在显著正相关。但没有发现女性之间存在相关性（n = 48，r = 0.142，p = 0.169，单侧，标准化 95%置信区间，-0.152 至 0.435）。
数据表明，低质量的不对称生长与男性后期代谢效率低下有关。儿童期与生长无关的能量投资过程（可能与应激反应有关）可能与成年代谢效率产生权衡。我们认为，RMR 和 FA 之间存在关系的原因可能是男性更大的体型和增加的肌肉质量会增加额外的代谢负担，这可能会放大由于低质量生长而产生的效率低下。
