ARE FAT PEOPLE WARMER THAN THIN PEOPLE?

摘要

At the yearly Rottnest Channel Swim in Western Australia, participants often smear their bodies with animal fat for insulation against the 70-degree water. But their own body fat also helps to keep them warm, like an extra layer of clothing beneath the skin. When scientists studied aspects of the event in 2006, they found that swimmers with a greater body mass index (BMI) appear to be at much lower risk of getting hypothermia. The same effect has been demonstrated in hospitals where patients who've suffered cardiac arrest are treated with "therapeutic hypothermia" to stave off brain injury and inflammation. Studies have shown that it takes longer to induce hypothermia in obese patients than in their leaner counterparts. The extra fat seems to insulate the body's core.