It has long been noted that there is a rough
correlation between body size and life span.
Smaller organisms having shorter life spans
than larger animals (e.g. a mouse has a shorter
lifespan than an elephant). It is also true that
smaller organisms have a faster heart and
metabolic rate than do larger animals. The
relationship is certainly not perfect across all
species, but there does seem to be a general
correlation between these variables. This
observation has led to an idea about aging
called the
hypothesis that
suggests that lifespan is an inverse function of
metabolic rate.
It has long been noted that there is a rough
correlation between body size and life span.
Smaller organisms having shorter life spans
than larger animals (e.g. a mouse has a shorter
lifespan than an elephant). It is also true that
smaller organisms have a faster heart and
metabolic rate than do larger animals. The
relationship is certainly not perfect across all
species, but there does seem to be a general
correlation between these variables. This
observation has led to an idea about aging
called the
hypothesis that
suggests that lifespan is an inverse function of
metabolic rate