lungs

[oren413]

wasn't sure where to post this, but it seems most fitting in here because i couldn't find an actual section on this type of stuff.

anyway, i know healthy lungs make for more relaxed and easier breathing underwater, but i was wondering how big the actual volume difference is with lungs in people. what i'm saying is, how much bigger would, lets say, a 6 foot 210lb persons lungs be than a 5' 2" 120lb persons?

i wonder about this because i like doing buoyancy exercises using only the lungs.

 

[TSandM]

Unfortunately, I'm not at home where I have my reference books, but a quick attempt at search the web for relation between vital capacity (functional lung volume) and height and weight failed to come up with a formula. But average vital capacity for a 70 kg (154 lb) male and average female were estimated on one site to be approximately 2 liters different. This would give you a lift difference of a little more than 4.5 lbs in seawater.

I know, as a practical matter, that if I inhale fully, I move upward far more slowly than my male colleagues do.