This seems really hard to believe, but its what a new study is saying.

However, the study didn’t include how we use resources! It compared the gaits of the two species.

Apparently, the human bipedal gait is about four times more efficient than chimps getting around on either two or four legs. The researchers feel they have demonstrated why humans walk bipedally, a phenomenon that previously went unexplained.

David Raichlen from the University of Arizona in Tucson and colleagues set up a study in which five adult chimps were trained to use a treadmill, either on two legs or four.

The subjects were fitted with masks to collect exhaled air so that parameters such as oxygen use could be measured. Blobs of white paint on critical parts of the body such as elbows and knees allowed researchers to analyse the gait using video.

The results were compared with four human subjects using the same treadmill.

“We were able to tie the energetic cost in chimps to their anatomy,” noted Dr Raichlen.

“We were able to show exactly why certain individuals were able to walk bipedally more cheaply than others.”

It’s interesting, but it just proves how we can use science to explain anything!

via green england