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You might be shivering through this frigid winter-with its arctic blasts and record low temps-concerned with how it may be slowing your resolution to get rid of several extra pounds.
However, according to new information out of the Netherlands, taking advantage of the cold to shed a few pounds may be as simple as adjusting your thermostat.
A new study published within the medical journal Trends in Endocrinology & Metabolism states that lowering internal temperatures gradually, plus a healthy way of life, can speed your metabolism and assist you to lose weight. Though this doesn’t suggest you need to spend extra time outdoors in subzero chill.
“We suggest that regular contact with mild cold may give a healthy and sustainable alternative strategy for increasing energy expenditure,” says Wouter van Marken Lichtenbelt, charge author of the study, inside a pr release. “Thermal security in the built environment may increase our susceptibility to obesity and related disorders. Mild cold exposure increases body energy expenditure without shivering and without compromising our precious comfort.”
The researchers studied 17 participants in climate-controlled environments heated to 59 degrees for six hours a day. They found that, after Ten days, the participants showed a rise of healthy brown fat-fat that utilizes energy from food or body fat to produce body heat-and acclimated to the colder temperature. Therefore, the participants’ bodies were losing fat to help keep warm, boosting their metabolisms.
According to the study findings, by keeping your environment a little cooler, around 62 degrees, the body will be enough to show results without risking your wellbeing. Since indoor climate is typically kept higher in the winter to pay for freezing temps outdoors, the researchers figured the increase may contribute to obesity.
Dr. Paul Ringel of Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in Chicago agrees with the study findings, but cautions against what he thinks could simply be a weight-loss “gimmick.”
“Weight loss is basic math-fewer calories in and increased calories out,” Dr. Ringel says. “So the idea is theoretically sound and in all likelihood safe. But I wouldn’t recommend it as a weight-loss method. This doesn’t supplant the requirement for dieting and exercise.”
He says studies such as this one remind him from the experience of a higher school friend.
“Before a final in French class, he tried hearing French on tape, as they was asleep, to learn subconsciously,” Dr. Ringel says. “He failed miserably.”
