Is There A Limit to Muscular Size? by Jerry Brainum

 

Have you ever wondered why there has never been a creature the size of the film icon, King Kong? Of course, some dinosaurs have exceeded Kong's size, but no mammals have ever come close to the massive size shown by Kong in the series of films in which he appears. The current largest animal on earth is the Blue Whale, which can weigh 230 tons, but again a Blue Whale is not comparable to any human, while King Kong was. The largest known primate ever was a creature called Gigantopithecus Blacki, who stood 10-feet-tall. In contrast, the tallest recorded human was Robert Wadlow, who at 8-foot-11 weighed 439 pounds. Wadlow died at age 22 after acquiring an infection in his leg. Humans today who are over 7 feet tall likely produced more growth hormone than usual during their younger years, which caused excessive growth of their long bones, accounting for their height. While many people aspire to attain the great height exhibited by many NBA players and others, from a medical point of view being that tall is not favorable for longevity. Animal studies show that producing greater than normal release of growth hormone shortens their lives. The animals that live the longest produce the least amount of growth hormone or show some resistance to the primary product of GH release, insulinlike-growth-factor-1 (IGF-1). What does that mean for those who undergo growth hormone therapy? The dose of GH provided as replacement therapy in older adults is just enough to overcome a deficiency of the hormone, which begins to occur about age 40. Some people are affected by this more than others, so these people often opt to undergo GH replacement therapy. The good news is that studies tracking these people for 20 years or more show no negative health effects from the GH therapy, and a few benefits, such as increased exercise capacity and even minor degrees of muscular growth.

But back to King Kong. Apes are close primate relatives of humans, so it makes you wonder if an ape can ever attain the size of the fictional king of Skull Island, the great Kong. The problem with Kong is that if he ever did exist, he would not be able to move. The reason for that is that his bones could not support the thousands of tons that he would weigh at about 100 feet tall. He would just collapse under his own weight. Another problem would be his circulatory system. Kong would have to have a massive heart to support his large mass. He likely would not be able to breathe fast enough to supply his muscles with oxygen. What that means is as soon as he started to move rapidly, he would pass out, since his heart and circulatory system couldn't supply enough oxygen to his brain. Indeed, under high stress, Kong's heart would probably explode. His massive . . .