Wives may be better at lugging heavy loads than husbands, according to new research。

Scientists studying the physics of backpacking found that smaller hikers can be better equipped to carry heavy loads than people with larger frames。

The reason may be linked to the fact that walkers carrying backpacks also have to haul their own body weight, scientists believe。

Hiking guidelines say that the weight of a pack should correspond to body size, with smaller individuals bearing lighter burdens。

Professor Michael O'Shea, from Kansas State University, US, who conducted the research using a computer model, said: "Online advice from several sources was somewhat misleading in suggesting that pack weight should be a certain per cent of a person's weight. However, as the size of any animal increases, strength increases more slowly than body weight - the reason why tiny ants can carry a disproportionately heavy load compared to their weight。

"Overall strength of an individual does not determine how heavy a backpack a person can comfortably carry."

Prof O'Shea noticed that some of the smaller hikers could carry greater back weights than larger students with similar fitness levels。

Incorporating pack weight and body proportion data, he came up with an equation to determine the maximum rucksack load suitable for a person of given size。

據《每日電訊報》報道，妻子的負重能力可能更勝于丈夫。

科學家研究背包客身體狀況發(fā)現，身材矮小的徒步旅行者似乎比身材高大的徒步旅行者更能負重。

科學家們相信這個結果與如下事實有關：徒步旅行者攜帶背包的同時也負擔著自己的體重。

徒步旅行指南說道背包的負重應與自身體型相對應，身材矮小的人就應該背更輕負重。

來自美國堪薩斯州立大學的邁克爾·奧謝教授運用電腦模型完成了該項研究，他說：“網上那些認為身材矮小的人應該負重更輕完全是誤導性的建議。然而，事實并非如此，隨著體重的增加，力量的提升并沒有與之成正比，這也就是為什么螞蟻能夠負重起遠重于它體重的東西的原因。”

“一個人的力氣并不決定他能負載多重的東西。”

奧謝教授發(fā)現身材矮小的徒步旅行者似乎比身材高大的徒步旅行者更能負重。

通過比對負重與體重數據，他得出一個關于背包最大負重量與人體重量的等式關系。