Warm Ambient Temperature Decreases Food Intake in a Simulated Office Setting: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

BackgroundWe hypothesized that exposure to temperatures above the thermoneutral zone (TNZ) would decrease food intake in young adults in a sedentary office environment over a 2-h period.MethodsParticipants wearing standardized clothing were randomized to perform routine office work in the TNZ, considered control (19–20°C), or above the TNZ considered warmer (26–27°C) using a parallel-group design (n = 11 and 9, respectively). Thermal images of the inner canthus of their eye and middle finger nail bed, representing proxies of core and peripheral temperatures, respectively, were taken at baseline, first, and second hour during this lunchtime study. Heat dissipation was estimated using peripheral temperature. General linear models were built to examine the effects of thermal treatment on caloric intake and potential mediation by heat dissipation. Researchers conducted the trial registered as NCT02386891 at Clinicaltrials.gov during April to May 2014.ResultsDuring the 2-h stay in different ambient temperatures, the participants in the control conditions ate 99.5 kcal more than those in the warmer conditions; however, the difference was not statistically significant. Female participants ate about 350 kcal less than the male participants (p = 0.024) in both groups and there was no significant association between caloric intake and participant’s body mass index (BMI). After controlling for thermal treatment, gender and BMI, the participant’s peripheral temperature was significantly associated with caloric intake (p = 0.002), suggesting a mediating effect. Specifically, for every 1°C increase in peripheral temperature suggesting increased heat dissipation, participants ate 85.9 kcal less food.ConclusionThis pilot study provided preliminary evidence of effects of thermal environment on food intake. It suggests that decreased food intake in the experimental (warmer) environment is potentially mediated through thermoregulatory mechanisms.

Effects of Indoor Thermal Environment on Human Food Intake, Productivity, and Comfort: Pilot, Randomized, Crossover Trial

“…In our previous study, after control for thermal condition, gender, and BMI, the participants’ peripheral temperature was significantly associated with caloric intake ( P = 0.002), suggesting a mediating effect . The results of the present study did not suggest peripheral temperature as a mediating factor.…”

“…In our previous study, after control for thermal condition, gender, and BMI, the participants' peripheral temperature was significantly associated with caloric intake (P = 0.002), suggesting a mediating effect (18).…”

The office experiment: Can science build the perfect workspace?

“…In a landmark 1984 study 1 , Roger Ulrich, a pioneer in health-care design research now at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden, found that people recovering from surgery in hospital rooms with views of nature needed shorter stays and fewer doses of strong pain medication than did those in rooms looking onto a brick wall. Others have reported that certain kinds of artificial light can improve sleep and reduce depression and agitation in people with Alzheimer's disease 2 ; that higher air temperatures seem to curb calorie consumption 3 ; that employees take more sick leave when they work in open-plan offices 4 ; and that children in daylight-drenched classrooms progress faster in maths and reading than do those in darker ones 5 .…”

Assessment of Obesity, Presumed and Proven Causes and Prevention Strategies: A Review

“…Food environment [109][110][111] Unsafe recreation and living areas [112][113][114][115] Unwholesome foods [116] Low ambient temperature [117][118][119] Food deserts [120,121] Obesogenic chemicals such as endocrine disruptors (Bisphenol A, phthalates, atrazine, organotins and perfluorooctanoic acid) [122,123] Obesogenic foods/living in food swamps [124] Dysfunction of appetite and satiety centers in brain [137] Dysfunction of frontal cortex of brain that controls impulsive eating [138,139] Problem with brain neuro-transmitters [139,140] ADHD in children leading to adult obesity [141] General Prescription medications-side effects of commonly prescribed drugs (drugs for diabetes, hypertension, allergy contraception, corticosteroids & health issues) [142] Psychiatric Prescription Drugs -side effects (Prescription drugs-for mental health issues-schizophrenia , depression, anxiety, mood etc) , [134,136] …”

“…Unsafe recreation & living areas [112][113][114][115] c. Unwholesome foods [116] d. Low ambient temperature: Sometimes obesity could result from sitting for long time in low ambient temperatures. Several reports have implicated sedentary lifestyle in air conditioned environment in the cause of obesity [117][118][119].…”