New study explains why men’s noses are bigger than women’s
Human noses come in all shapes and sizes. But one feature seems to hold true: Men’s noses are bigger than women’s.
A new study from the University of Iowa concludes that men’s noses are about 10 percent larger than female noses, on average, in populations of European descent. The size difference, the researchers believe, comes from the sexes’ different builds and energy demands: Males in general have more lean muscle mass, which requires more oxygen for muscle tissue growth and maintenance. Larger noses mean more oxygen can be breathed in and transported in the blood to supply the muscle.
The researchers also note that males and females begin to show differences in nose size at around age 11, generally, when puberty starts. Physiologically speaking, males begin to grow more lean muscle mass from that time, while females grow more fat mass. Prior research has shown that, during puberty, approximately 95 percent of body weight gain in males comes from fat-free mass, compared to 85 percent in females.
"This relationship has been discussed in the literature, but this is the first study to examine how the size of the nose relates to body size in males and females in a longitudinal study," says Nathan Holton, assistant professor in the UI College of Dentistry and lead author of the paper, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology. “We have shown that as body size increases in males and females during growth, males exhibit a disproportionate increase in nasal size. This follows the same pattern as energetic variables such as oxygenate consumption, basal metabolic rate and daily energy requirements during growth.”
It also explains why our noses are smaller than those of our ancestors, such as the Neanderthals. The reason, the researchers believe, is because our distant lineages had more muscle mass, and so needed larger noses to maintain that muscle. Modern humans have less lean muscle mass, meaning we can get away with smaller noses”
Read more:
http://phys.org/news/2013-11-men-noses-bigger-women.html
Lol this was another interesting read! Makes sense. More lean muscle equals the need for more oxygen hence bigger nose. Lol kinda funny. Does this hold true for other nationalities other than European descendants.
ReplyDeleteMakws sense, but this doesn't explain why noses and ears continue to get larger as we age.
ReplyDeleteOne theory about the nose is that it has a large number of sebaceous glands, which have a high cell turnover rate and therefore growth potential. But both the ears and nose droop as soft tissue (skin, fat, and muscle) relaxes and structural support changes,bone recedes with time, so there's less foundation to hold the skin and cartilage up.
ReplyDeletePlus, let's not forget loss of elasticity and collagen in the skin causes sagging.
LOL...do tell Duncan Michael-MacGregor =)
ReplyDelete