ENTROPY PRINCIPLE FOR HUMAN-DEVELOPMENT, GROWTH AND AGING

Entropy productions within nude subjects in respiration calorimeters are calculated from the corresponding energetic data obtained by Du Bois et al. (1952, J. Nutr. 48, 257-293.). The entropy production for men is constant at environmental temperatures from 24-34°C. The metabolic entropy production comprises 98·6% of the total entropy production. The entropy production for women shows a minimum at 30°C (the middle of the neutral zone), a small rise in the cold zone and a trend toward a rise in the warm zone; the average entropy production for women is 8·7% smaller than that for men. The entropy production rises from 0-2 years of age, and decreases rapidly from 2-25 years of age and then gradually to 85 years of age. The entropy production does not seem to achieve a minimum or a level in the lives of men and women. Based on these results, a three-stage hypothesis of entropy production in human life is proposed. © 1991 Academic Press Limited.