Impact of room thermal conditions on thermal response and energy expenditure of people of different body compositions

Abstract

We performed a climatic chamber study with the participation of sixteen people in all BMI categories at different thermal conditions (16.4°C, 22.1°C, 28.0°C) and activity levels (light, medium, high). There was no substantial influence of the BMI value on the thermal and humidity sensations and the thermal preferences of the subjects. Underweight people had the lowest thermal sensation in cold conditions, while obese people declared sensations most similar to neutral in hot conditions. The net energy expenditure values were the highest in all weight groups during cold conditions and the lowest during warm conditions. We observed that energy expenditure increases with an increase in BMI. The energy expenditure variability depending on body fat percentage was entirely different for women and men. In the former group, energy expenditure increased with the increase in body fat content (especially for medium and high activity). In the case of men, this dependence was not noticed – the energy expenditure was at a similar level regardless of the fat content.