Thermal responses affected by different underwear materials during light exercise and rest in cold.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of two types of underwear materials on thermophysiological responses during rest and light exercise. Two differently moisture-regaining underwear materials were tested: 100% cotton (COTTON) and 100% acrylic (ORLON). Nine female subjects participated in the experiments at an ambient temperature of -10 degrees C. The experiment comprised a 20-min of rest, a 40-min of walking exercise (6 km/h) and a 40-min of recovery. No significant differences could be found in the average values of core temperature, skin and clothing temperatures, amount of non-evaporated and evaporated sweat or subjective ratings of thermal sensations within the two different underwear ensembles. The amount of sweat accumulated into the underwear was very low (3 +/- 1g) and (5 +/- 3g) (mean +/- SE) in COTTON and ORLON, respectively. In both ensembles moisture was transferred towards outer layers of the clothing where the amount of moisture correlated significantly with the total sweat production. In a heavily sweating individual, however, the properties of COTTON underwear, such as wicking ability and high moisture regain, became apparent (accumulated sweat 71g) compared to ORLON (46g). It is concluded that the underwear materials have no significant influence on the thermophysiological responses or subjective sensations under the conditions studied, especially when the sweat rate is low. On the other hand, in individuals with a higher sweating rate the differences between materials may become evident even during light exercise.