People with a house temperature of 68 degrees F were twice as likely to become obese as 64 degrees

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Wednesday, May 25, 2011 9:52 am Email this article
People with a house temperature of degrees 68 degrees F ( 20 degrees C ) or more were more than twice as likely to become obese during a 6-year follow-up compared to people whose house temperature was 64 degrees F ( 18 degrees C ) or less according to study from researchers at the the University of Turin in Turin, Italy. Comment

Comment: This is the first study I have seen to look at house temperature

This is the first study I have seen look at house temperature in relationship to obesity.

Cooler environments cause the body to burn more calories to keep warm.

 

Subjects

Subjects: 1282 people

The study followed 1282 Caucasian people, aged 45–64 years, who were not obese at the start of the study, for 6 years to try and determine factors that were associated with an increased risk of obesity.

After 6 years, 103 had become obese, and 1179 had not.

 

Cold temperatures activate brown fat

Cold temperatures activate brown fat which burns white fat for heat

“Cold temperature can activate brown adipose tissue [ which burns white fat to create heat ] in adult humans, irrespective of age and gender,” the paper notes.

“Over 30 years ago, research suggested that obesity could be treated by exercise in the cold.”

 

Conclusion

Conclusion: Sleep restriction, higher home temperature and restaurant meals were associated with increased risk of obesity

“Sleep restriction, higher home temperature and regular consumption of [ restaurant meals ] might represent lifestyle contributors to the obesity and hyperglycemia epidemics,” the paper concluded. “Avoiding these behaviors could be a potential adjunctive non-pharmacological strategy for preventing the obesity and hyperglycemia epidemics.”

REFERENCE

Bo S, Ciccone G, Durazzo M, Ghinamo L, Villois P, Canil S, Gambino R, Cassader M, Gentile L, Cavallo-Perin P. Contributors to the obesity and hyperglycemia epidemics. A prospective study in a population-based cohort. Int J Obes (Lond). 2011 Feb 1, published on-line.

AUTHOR’S CONTACT INFORMATION

Dr. S Bo
Department of Internal Medicine
University of Turin
Corso Dogliotti 14
Turin 10126, Italy
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Articles on the same subject can be found here:

• Obesity, Factors associated with

• Temperature, House