Americans like to crank up the heat in the winter — and some scientists think it’s making us fat. Turn down the thermostat, they say, and you might lose a few pounds.
The link between ambient temperature and weight is not completely far-fetched. When we’re exposed to extreme cold, we shiver, an involuntary reaction that makes our skeletal muscles contract to generate heat, burning extra calories in the process.
And even in mildly cold conditions, like in a chilly room with the thermostat turned down to the lower 60s, people generate extra heat without shivering. The process, called non-shivering thermogenesis, may involve a substance called brown fat that adults carry in certain areas, like the upper back and side of the neck.
Full Story: Weight Gain Linked to Indoor Heating – NYTimes.com