Why I'm a Polar Bear: The Benefits of Cold Exposure

In the January / February issue of The Atlantic, James Hamblin writes about the relationship between cold exposure and weight loss in his article entitled "Will Global Warming Make me Look Fat?"

http://www.nicolanaturalists.ca/2011/11/02/across-the-top-of-russia-wildlife-adventures-on-the-northeast-passage-17-november-2011-7-pm-at-nvit/

Yesterday I was headed to work on MARTA, skimming this month's edition of The Atlantic when I stumbled across this: an article about both global warming and obesity - both of which relate to my interests in city planning and the future of cities.  And then the first sentence ..."When you put on the ice vest..."
For those who have known me awhile - especially in high school or at Purdue, I was a self-proclaimed polar bear.  Initially stemming from my affinity for wearing shorts in the cold and later transitioning as my chest sprouted enough hair to actually confuse me as a bear.

Mr. Freeze

http://batman.wikia.com/wiki/Mr._Freeze/Gallery

The aforementioned ice vest is an invention by Wayne B. Hayes, a UC Irvine professor (not pictured above), who claims that wearing it for an hour burns up to 250 calories.  Hayes and the author, Hamblin, explain that this calorie burn stems from thermodynamics, as the body must work harder to maintain a normal body temperature.  To give credit where due, Hayes' work was spurred by the efforts of Ray Cronise, a former NASA scientist who now devotes his time to cold exposure research.  Oddly, Michael Phelps spurred Cronise' interest in cold exposure.  At the peak of his training, Michael Phelps was consuming 12,000 calories a day while training, but burning no more than 3,000 calories each day while training. What was burning those other calories?  Why did Phelps not look like a beached whale?
[Suspense]
In the end, Cronise realized that it was the heat transfer properties of water, Phelps training medium, that were aiding him in this massive calorie burn.

Motivated by this finding, Cronise began taking cold showers and cold winter strolls and "lost 26.7 pounds in 6 weeks."  According to Cronise and Hamblin, this weight loss was due to the fact that his body was using stored fat to burn energy and stay warm.  While you may not have any bff's employing his methods, Cronise has gained mild fame from these discoveries as the subject of a Timothy Ferris best seller "The 4-Hour Body." He also recently gave a TEDMED talk where he discussed his findings.  Yet, even with this notoriety, Cronise emphasizes that one "can't simply freeze themselves thin" and notes that today, people rarely accept continued exposure to 55 degree temperatures.

Let's consider all of the other actions people take to lose weight.  I for one would much rather stay cold for a few hours than consume some of the cleanse drinks/smoothies I have seen or forego carbs.  In the big scheme of things, is cold exposure really that crazy of an concept in the quest to shed pounds?  Regardless, there is more to Hamblin's article than weight-loss.

"When I was Your Age..."

Hamblin points out that -
           "many of us live almost constantly, year-round, in 70-something-degree environments.  And when we             are caught somewhere colder than that, most of us quickly on a sweater or turn up the heat."

For most of us, it has been two generations (or less depending on where you are from) since our grandparents quite literally had to sit by the fireplace or wood burning stove to stay warm at some point in their lives.  Thus, our recent ancestors likely had to deal with the cold more often, were more tolerant of cold weather, and had less flexibility to flick a switch and find comfort.  While most of the people reading this likely worry little about getting cold, this is a very recent event in human history.

Hamlbin goes on to discuss how Cronise and two other colleagues (Bremer and Sinclair) propose a "Metabolic Winter" hypothesis which states that "obesity is only a small part due to lack of exercise and mostly due to a combination of chronic over-nutrition and chronic warmth."  In what is my favorite quote of the article, Cronise states "'In the last 0.9 inches of the evolutionary mile, we solve both [refrigeration and modern transportation."  Later Cronise goes on to suggest that "maybe our problem is that winter never comes."

My Thoughts

If you haven't noticed yet, this blog post is my sad attempt to put North Face and Ugg out of business.

This article speaks to me most from it's role as a microcosm of society's technological advances and the cumulative impact of these advancements on our health and daily routine.  Just as many cities' car-centric designs have resulted in less exercise, our ever-increasing demand for comfort may have produced a similar outcome, as bodies don't have to work as hard to keep us warm.  Those who drive to work literally spend 99% of their days and steps in a climate controlled setting, only subjecting themselves to the harsh elements of their locale in their garage and during the walk into their office (which also might be a garage).  Poor energy efficiency, health, and urban planning aside, the way in which we've organized our cities has reduced our tolerance to the elements. (Aside: denser, more vertical housing with more shared walls would help to lower the cost of heating for everyone and result in better planning with more walking, etc...)
---
Should we toughen up as a society?  Should we do away with flannel (sorry Vermonters), wool, and fleece (sheep rejoice)?  Perhaps the most logical course of action is as follows: The next time it's cold and you're under a blanket, eating popcorn, and feeling a little flabby, consider ditching the blanket and not the popcorn.

Thanks for reading and have a good hump day.