Journal of PHYSIOLOGICAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Online ISSN : 1880-6805
Print ISSN : 1880-6791
RAPID COMMUNICATIONS
Involvement of Basal Metabolic Rate in Determination of Type of Cold Tolerance
Takafumi MaedaTetsuhito FukushimaKeita IshibashiShigekazu Higuchi
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2007 Volume 26 Issue 3 Pages 415-418

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Abstract

This study aimed to assess the relationship between basal metabolic rate (BMR) and metabolic heat production, and to clarify the involvement of BMR in determining the phenotype of cold tolerance. Measurements of BMR, maximum oxygen uptake, and cold exposure test were conducted on ten males. In the cold exposure test, rectal (Trec) and mean skin temperatures (Tms), oxygen uptake, and blood flow at forearm (BFarm) were measured during exposure to cold (10°C) for 90 min. Significant correlations were observed between BMR and increasing rate of oxygen uptake, as well as between decreasing rate of BFarm and increasing rate of oxygen uptake at the end of cold exposure. These findings suggested that individuals with a lower BMR were required to increase their metabolic heat production during cold exposure, and that those with a higher BMR were able to moderate increased metabolic heat production during cold exposure because they were able to reduce heat loss. This study showed that BMR is an important factor in determining the phenotype of cold tolerance, and that individuals with a low BMR showed calorigenic-type cold adaptation, whereas subjects with a high BMR exhibited adiabatic-type cold adaptation by peripheral vasoconstriction.

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© 2007 Japan Society of Physiological Anthropology
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