Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Energy Expenditure In The Backcountry, Mandy Pojha, Cara Ocobock, John Gookin

Research in Outdoor Education

The study of energy economics, known as energetics, has played a key role in shaping human ecology, evolution, and performance (Leonard & Ulijaszek, 2002). Research on energetics gives insight into how humans interact with their environment and how differences in body shape and size can impact that interaction. This understanding is particularly insightful for humans living in the backcountry for extended periods of time. Selecting food types and amounts to meet high-energy demands in the backcountry setting is a challenge, because energy demand models have primarily been based on lab studies that, in hindsight, appear to routinely underestimate energy demands …