The effect of a year in the Antarctic on human thermal and metabolic responses to an acute standardized cold stress.

Abstract

Abstract : The metabolic rate and thermal responses of eight healthy subjects exposed nude for 2 hours to a standard cold stress (17 + or - 1.0 C air temperature) were examined in the fall, winter, and spring at Little America V in the ntarctic. Mean body, average skin and foot temperatures increased significantly (P less than 0.05) over the year. Neither rectal nor finger temperatures were altered. There was a decrease (P less than 0.05) in heat production to meet the same thermal demands after 3 months in the Antarctic. Basal metabolic rates were unchanged. Obvious shivering observed in all subjects in the fall was almost absent in the winter and spring. It is suggested that these changes represent physiological adaptation to low ambient temperatures. (Author)