A daily struggle with the scale plays out in bathrooms across the United States leaving many Americans feeling hopeless about their growing waistlines.
Now new findings, published in Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism, suggest regular exposure to cold temperatures may help folks lose weight.
“What would it mean if we let our bodies work again to control body temperature? We hypothesize that the thermal environment affects human health and more specifically that frequent mild cold exposure can significantly affect our energy expenditure over sustained time periods, said the article’s first author, Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt of Maastricht University Medical Center in a press release.
However, on the flip side, that means our warm and cozy homes and offices might be partly responsible for our expanding waistlines.
“Since most of us are exposed to indoor conditions 90 percent of the time, it is worth exploring health aspects of ambient temperatures,” said van Marken Lichtenbelt.
Before this study began about a decade ago, previous research had primarily focused on extreme temperatures to the military, firefighters, and others.
The findings from these studies showed big differences among people in their response to mild cold conditions.
This conclusion, helped led researchers to an important discovery: heat-generating, calorie-burning brown fat isn’t just for babies. Adults have it too and some more than others.
However, researchers found over time people get use to the cold. For instance, after six hours a day in the cold for a period of 10 days, people in their study increased brown fat, felt more comfortable and shivered less at 15 degree Celsius (59 degrees F).
In young and middle-aged people, non-shivering heat production can account for a few percent up to 30 percent of the body’s energy budget, according to the study.
Researchers concluded overall there is now more evidence suggesting a more variable indoor might be beneficial. However, long-term effects still await further investigation.
In addition to our exercise routine, maybe spending more time in the cold could help keep unwanted pounds at bay.
“Indoor temperature in most buildings is regulated to minimize the percentage of people dissatisfied,” wrote researchers. “This results in relatively high indoor temperatures in wintertime. This is evident in offices, in dwellings and is most pronounced in care centers and hospitals. By lack of exposure to a varied ambient temperature, whole populations may be prone to develop diseases like obesity. In addition, people become vulnerable to sudden changes in ambient temperature.”
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