Title: Acclimatization (adjusting to the temperature) | University of Iowa Hospitals & Clinics
Headings: Acclimatization (adjusting to the temperature)
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Acclimatization (adjusting to the temperature)
Outdoor acclimatization
Factors affecting climate acclimatization
Body fat
Age
Medications
Metabolic rate
Prepare to cope with the heat
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Content: Greater surface area provides more exposed skin to perspire and cool the body through evaporation. But this same fat can be beneficial to a person who lives in cold climates because the fat insulates skin tissue. The Inuit, who live in cold regions, tend to have more body fat than people who live in warmer climates. Age
Elderly persons usually don't tolerate temperature extremes as well as do younger people. As a person ages, the body's response to temperature change–shivering in low temperatures and sweating in high temperatures–is delayed and reduced. Medications
Some medications may interfere with the body's ability to tolerate temperature extremes because they affect parts of the brain responsible for temperature regulation. For example, some asthma and hay fever medications can reduce your tolerance to heat or cold. Metabolic rate
A person's metabolic rate–the speed at which the body's cells turn food into energy–affects the person's ability to cope with heat and cold. A relatively high metabolic rate produces more heat than a relatively low metabolic rate. As a result someone with a high metabolic rate may feel warm in a room of 72 degrees where a person with a low rate may feel cool.