Rising indoor winter temperatures linked to obesity?

Press release Links: - UCL Epidemiology & Public Health - UCL Bartlett School of Graduate Studies Increases in winter indoor temperatures in the United Kingdom, United States and other developed countries may be contributing to rises in obesity in those populations, according to UCL research published today. The review paper, published in the journal Obesity Reviews , examines evidence of a potential causal link between reduced exposure to seasonal cold and increases in obesity in the UK and US. Reduced exposure to cold may have two effects on the ability to maintain a healthy weight: minimising the need for energy expenditure to stay warm and reducing the body's capacity to produce heat. The review summarises the evidence for increases in winter indoor temperatures in the UK and US and also examines the biological plausibility of the idea that exposure to seasonal cold could help to regulate energy balance and body weight on a population level. The paper brings together existing evidence showing that winter indoor temperatures have increased over the last few decades and that there has also been an increase in homogenisation of temperatures in domestic settings. Increasing expectations of thermal comfort mean that seasonal cold exposure is decreasing and we are spending more time exposed to milder temperatures. The authors also discuss the role of brown adipose tissue (brown fat) in human heat production.