Lower indoor temperature in winter linked to lower waist measurement

BOSTON — Older adults exposed to colder in-home temperature during winter months have a lower average waist circumference than adults with a warmer indoor temperature, according to study findings presented here.

“Compared with participants in a cold house, the people with moderate to warm [temperatures] tend to show larger abdominal circumference,” Keigo Saeki, MD, PhD, of the department of community health and epidemiology at Nara Medical University School of Medicine in Nara, Japan, told Endocrine Today. “The result is consistent with experimental studies that [show] brown adipose tissue is activated by cold exposure, promoting thermogenesis and increasing energy expenditure.”

Keigo Saeki

In a cross-sectional analysis, Saeki and colleagues analyzed baseline data from 1,103 home-dwelling adults participating in the community-based HEIJO-KYO study (mean age, 72 years; 46.6% men). Researchers measured the indoor temperature of participants’ homes every 10 minutes for 48 hours, along with abdominal circumference during winter (October to April) from 2010 to 2014. Participants all stayed home during the daytime. Researchers divided the participants into four quartiles based on daytime indoor temperature: 10°C or less (n = 64); 10°C to 15°C (n = 346); 15°C to 20°C (n = 529); and at least 20°C (n = 164).

Researchers found the mean abdominal circumference for participants rose with increasing indoor temperatures. The mean abdominal circumference was 81.3 cm for quartile 1 (95% CI, 79.2-83.5); 83.4 cm for quartile 2 (95% CI, 82.5-84.3); 84.2 cm for quartile 3 (95% CI, 83.5-85) and 84.9 cm for quartile 4 (95% CI, 83.6-86.3). The association remained after adjusting for age, sex, smoking status, outdoor temperature, physical activity energy intake and demographic information (P = .022).

“Cold exposure is known as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease,” Saeki said. “Further research is necessary to clarify the minimum cold exposure [needed] to activate brown adipose tissue, or the safest time of day for cold exposure.” – by Regina Schaffer

Reference:

Saeki K, et al. FRI-608. Presented at: The Endocrine Society Annual Meeting; April 1-4, 2016; Boston.

Disclosure: Saeki reports doing research for YKK AP Inc.