Can Air Conditioning Make You Fat?
Posted by
Rebecca S.
For years, researchers have blamed a sedentary lifestyle and consumption of too much junk food for the plague of obesity throughout the U.S. (almost a quarter of Americans are now defined as obese). But a report by researchers at the University of Birmingham, AL, shows that weight problems are just as likely to be caused by air conditioning, lack of sleep, a decrease in the number of smokers (smoking suppresses appetite), and an increase in the number of babies born to older women. When people and animals go above or below a "thermoneutral" ambient temperature, they lose weight. If it's too cold, they burn fat to stay warm, and if too hot, their appetites decrease. But studies show that people are keeping their houses warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than they did a few decades ago, so these natural influences on weight are no longer in force. Research also shows that people who don't get enough sleep have larger appetites (the amount of sleep the average American adult has decreased from nine to seven hours in the last few decades).
I don't know how to resolve this without being uncomfortably cold or hot, but it's interesting. Any comments? Ideas?
Posted by Rebecca S.
For years, researchers have blamed a sedentary lifestyle and consumption of too much junk food for the plague of obesity throughout the U.S. (almost a quarter of Americans are now defined as obese). But a report by researchers at the University of Birmingham, AL, shows that weight problems are just as likely to be caused by air conditioning, lack of sleep, a decrease in the number of smokers (smoking suppresses appetite), and an increase in the number of babies born to older women. When people and animals go above or below a "thermoneutral" ambient temperature, they lose weight. If it's too cold, they burn fat to stay warm, and if too hot, their appetites decrease. But studies show that people are keeping their houses warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer than they did a few decades ago, so these natural influences on weight are no longer in force. Research also shows that people who don't get enough sleep have larger appetites (the amount of sleep the average American adult has decreased from nine to seven hours in the last few decades). I don't know how to resolve this without being uncomfortably cold or hot, but it's interesting. Any comments? Ideas?