Human body size and the laws of scaling

Reviews: I recommend this volume for every academic library. Students with a focus on the natural and social sciences are likely to need this volume in their studies. Professional policy makers should have access to and read this volume. Thomas Samarasâ™s work should inspire legislators. In addition, college-educated citizens who have a general interest in the Earthâ™s ecology will want to read it. For them, most public libraries should acquire it. Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling is an outstanding and revelatory book. Stephen M Marson in Public Health Nutrition This book is packed with ideas, and I challenge any reader working within the field of human growth to read even one chapter without achieving new insights into their area of expertise. Jonathan C.K. Wells in Economics and Human Biology this book is worth a read for those with an interest in the evolutionary issues of human size and the impact of longevity, health and physiology. British Journal of Sports Medicine, Oct 2008 This book is packed with ideas and I challenge any reader working within the field of human growth to read even one chapter without achieving new insights into their area of expertise...To my knowledge, this book provides the most comprehensive examination to date of the hypothesis that human growth may have costs as well as benefits. Economics and Human Biology 6(2008) Several books have been published on scaling in biology and its ramifications in the animal kingdom. However, none has specifically examined the multifaceted effects of how changes in human height create disproportionately larger changes in weight, surface area, strength and other physiological parameters. Yet, the impact of these nonlinear effects on individual humans as well as our world's environment is enormous. Since increasing human body size has widespread ramifications, this book presents findings on the human species and its ecological niche. In biology, an 'ecological niche' refers to the role played by a species in its community and how the species interacts with its environment. Thus, a few chapters provide an ecological overview of how increasing human body size relates to human evolution, fitness, health, survival and the environment. This book provides a unique purview of the laws of scaling on human performance, health, longevity and the environment. Numerous examples from various research disciplines are used to illustrate the impact of increasing body size on many aspects of human enterprises, including work output, athletics and intellectual performance. © 2007 by Nova Science Publishers, Inc. All rights reserved.