Contents:
- Medical Video: Why Are Some People Always Cold?
- Fat is burned by the body when it is cold
- Fat people are more resistant to cold, is that right?
- Other mechanisms can make obese people more cold
Medical Video: Why Are Some People Always Cold?
When you are in cold weather or a cold place, you will definitely feel cold. So, you will also use thicker clothes to try to warm the body. In this condition, your body actually tries to keep warm so you don't feel more cold again. But why is someone's resistance to cold different? Is it true that people with lots of fat or fat are more resistant to cold?
Fat is burned by the body when it is cold
The body has its own mechanism to keep the temperature warm. That way, all organs, tissues, and cells in the body can work according to their functions. Without good body temperature control, of course the body cannot work.
The body maintains its core temperature by burning fat in the body. Fat has a very important role in controlling body temperature. When you are cold, your body uses energy from fat to produce heat. This heat is then used by the body to maintain body temperature.
Fat people are more resistant to cold, is that right?
Simply put, because fat is an energy source that is used by the body to warm the body, then people with lots of fat will be more resistant to cold. This relationship has also been proven in several studies.
One of them was a study of swimmers conducted in 2006. The study proved that swimmers with a large body mass index who have a greater body weight are at lower risk of developing hypothermia.
But actually, humans have two types of fat in their bodies, namely:
- White fat. Is a reserve of fat in the body that can provide additional energy for the body. High white fat levels are usually found in obese people. This type of fat can also increase the risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus and other diseases.
- Brown fat. Fat is stored in the body to be burned into energy to produce body heat, so it can help control body temperature. This type of fat plays a role in warming the body when you feel cold. However, the amount of brown fat will decrease as you age.
Also you need to know that actually fat people have less amount of brown fat than people with normal weight. So, fat people may not be more resistant to cold. But sometimes, white fat can also function like brown fat in response to cold temperatures.
Other mechanisms can make obese people more cold
Although a lot of fat allows fat people to be more resistant to cold, fat people can also feel more cold than people with normal weight. This can occur under certain conditions when the brain combines two signals, to warm the inner body and on the surface of the skin. This signal will govern the body to constrict blood vessels and trigger the body to feel shivering. Both of these mechanisms aim to keep the body warm.
In this condition, fat still tries to warm the inner body. However, the surface of the skin becomes cold. This then makes obese people feel more cold.
In addition, other factors can also determine a person's resistance to cold, such as muscle mass. People who have more muscle mass can protect their bodies better than cold. This is because muscle tissue can also produce heat by contracting and triggering a shivering response in the short term.
This could be the reason why people with normal weight, but have more muscle mass can be more resistant to cold than obese people who have less muscle mass.
