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http://www.citynews.ca/news/news_1651.aspx
Air Conditioning Makes You Gain Weight
Thursday June 29, 2006
It's the time of year when people want to peel off the layers and show off their tight and trim bods, but a recent report suggests some of those who live in air conditioned homes may be packing on a few extra pounds.
A recent report published in the International Journal of Obesity claims the biggie size fries and lack of exercise aren't the only factors to blame for North America's battle of the bulge.
Researchers say some aspects of modern life, including air conditioning, lack of sleep and exposure to chemicals, may be making people pudgy.
With air conditioning, your body doesn't have to work as hard to keep cool, so it burns fewer calories.
The calories you burn just lying in bed doing nothing is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR) - about 70 percent of the calories you burn in a day can be attributed to BMR.
Temperature can have an effect on the amount of calories you need to burn in a day. For example, a 30-year-old woman, who's 5'6" and 120 lbs has a BMR of 1339 calories per day. A change in her body temperature of half a degree will increase her BMR by about seven percent.
Find out how to calculate your BMR below.
"Air conditioning may be contributing one, two pounds over a lifetime for the average person," registered dietician Jennifer Sygo said. "Ultimately you have to burn more calories than you're taking in, it's as simple as that."
People also tend to eat less in hot and sticky weather, so air conditioning may increase appetites in the summer months.
While your BMR is responsible for the majority of the calories you burn, the calories you shed by exercising are the most important.
Air Conditioning Makes You Gain Weight
Thursday June 29, 2006
It's the time of year when people want to peel off the layers and show off their tight and trim bods, but a recent report suggests some of those who live in air conditioned homes may be packing on a few extra pounds.
A recent report published in the International Journal of Obesity claims the biggie size fries and lack of exercise aren't the only factors to blame for North America's battle of the bulge.
Researchers say some aspects of modern life, including air conditioning, lack of sleep and exposure to chemicals, may be making people pudgy.
With air conditioning, your body doesn't have to work as hard to keep cool, so it burns fewer calories.
The calories you burn just lying in bed doing nothing is called your basal metabolic rate (BMR) - about 70 percent of the calories you burn in a day can be attributed to BMR.
Temperature can have an effect on the amount of calories you need to burn in a day. For example, a 30-year-old woman, who's 5'6" and 120 lbs has a BMR of 1339 calories per day. A change in her body temperature of half a degree will increase her BMR by about seven percent.
Find out how to calculate your BMR below.
"Air conditioning may be contributing one, two pounds over a lifetime for the average person," registered dietician Jennifer Sygo said. "Ultimately you have to burn more calories than you're taking in, it's as simple as that."
People also tend to eat less in hot and sticky weather, so air conditioning may increase appetites in the summer months.
While your BMR is responsible for the majority of the calories you burn, the calories you shed by exercising are the most important.
