Does the cold burn more fat?

Winters are wonderful but our body has to change to adjust to this change in temperature. We may not realize the changes in our body but our body is silently working hard to cope with the dip in temperature.

The metabolism of the body increases and we feel hungry more frequently. As we do not sweat, the urge to urinate increases during this season. These are some of the ways our body is helping us to adjust with the changing weather. Having hot soups and other food will help us to remain warm throughout but if we choose to stay cold by not taking more food there are chances of weight loss as body is burning the fat to increase the body temperature to keep us warm.

There is heat producing fat cells in our body. These are also called brown fat. These fat cells are responsible for adjusting our body to any outside weather changes. The white fat cells does the work of storing the sugar in the form of energy that is derived from the food that we take, the function of the brown cell is to keep our body warm by burning the energy stored in them. As the temperature drops the brown fat in the body increases.

When the cold winter becomes unbearable our body first reciprocates by shivering, this is our muscles way of keeping our body warm .Then the brown fat that’s generated in our body takes over the job and produces heat by burning the fats.This way the calorie intake is burnt faster and weight is reduced during the winters.

If we keep a check on the food intake and not overeat we are sure to reduce weight because of the brown fat. As the temperature goes down the burning of the body fat increases resulting in weight loss.

​​Will taking a cold shower or being in a cold environment make the body burn fat? According to previous theories, because the body wants to maintain a normal body temperature, it must consume a lot of calories to maintain it, so keeping the body in a cold state will burn calories, which will help reduce fat more quickly. But is this theory correct?

On this topic, Ray Cronise, a former materials scientist at NASA (NASA), has spent a lot of time studying the benefits of "cold" on the body.

This research originated in 2008, when he heard that the famous swimmer Michael Phelps (Michael Phelps) eats an incredible 12,000 calories every day, he was aroused. The research interest of the problem. Because even if Phelps maintains a lot of exercise all year round, the reality that he can still maintain a fit body after eating so many calories every day is still unbelievable.

Cronise finally came to the conclusion after research: Phelps must burn more calories through long-term training in cold water. But Phelps said in an interview: I have never eaten so much, this story is just a rumor.

Although Phelps did not admit that he had consumed 12,000 calories in one day, this did not prevent Cronise from conducting experimental studies. He told everyone that in just 6 weeks, he kept taking a cold shower, walked in a T-shirt and shorts in cold weather, and slept in a bed without sheets... It’s really hard for scientists to start research~

The following is a summary of Cronise's research on metabolism, fat loss, and muscle growth by exposing the body to a cold environment:

1. Cold does affect the metabolic rate

When the body is in a cold environment, it stimulates a kind of brown adipose tissue (BAT) to produce heat to keep the body warm and burn calories in the process. Studies have shown that when the room temperature drops from 22 degrees to 16 degrees, the subjects burned an extra 170 calories a day on average.

2. Difference in heat energy consumption when it is cold
3. Cold will increase appetite
4. Cold will increase fat burning