Thermal perception and physiological responses in males and females during mild cold exposures in different clothing ensembles

摘要

In the first study of this thesis 10 males and 10 females walked on a treadmill with a ~10 km/h wind and an ambient temperature of -8°C. The hypotheses tested included: 1) females will have lower skin temperature and surface heat flux while all other physiological responses are similar when compared to male, 2) within each sex, an elasticized (E) coat versus a non-elasticized (NE) coat would give a diminished physiological strain and 3) that within each sex, the E coat versus the NE coat would give a better thermal comfort. Results in this first study showed some differences in physiological responses between the sexes, that males had higher thermal comfort ratings in an E versus a NE coat during exercise (p0.05). In the second study, it was hypothesized that females would have greater sensitivity to skin temperature changes than males on the hand, back and chest. The results showed females versus males were less sensitive to temperature changes only on the chest (p 0.05). In conclusion, in the first study some physiological responses differed between the sexes, the E compared to the NE coat provided no beneficial physiological responses within each sex and finally the E versus the NE coat provided greater thermal comfort in males. In the second study females were less sensitive to cold stimuli on the chest compared to males.