508 ANIMAL BIOCHEMISTRY 



TABLE 21-6. Basal Heat Production by Some Mammals and Birds 



Basal Metabolism 

 Body Weight, Basal Metabolism, per Unit of Surface, 



Species kg. kcal./kg./day kcal./m.Vday 



Horse 441 11 950 



Pig 128 19 1,080 



Man 64 32 1,040 



Dog 15 52 1,040 



Goose 3.5 67 970 



Chicken 2.0 71 940 



Mouse 0.018 75 920 



animals. (See Table 21-6.) Since body area can account for large 

 cliflFerences in basal metabolism, it is usually corrected for by express- 

 ing results in kilocalories per square meter per day. Although body 

 area is comparatively difficult to measure, it can be calculated from 

 body dimensions, using a special equation for each species. For man 

 the relationship is 



A = fro«5 X H'-^-"- X 7.184 X 10-3 



where A is area in square meters, W is weight in kilograms, and H is 

 height in centimeters. 



After taking the body area into consideration, the effects of both sex 

 and age are evident for human beings in Table 21-7. Males have 



TABLE 21-7. The Effect of Sex and Age on the Basal 

 Metabolism of Human Beings 



Average Metabolism, kcal./m.Vhr. 



Females 



52 

 46 

 40 



37 

 36 

 35 

 34 



slightly higher rates for basal metabolism, and there is a continual 

 decrease with increasing age. Additional factors modifying the basal 



