Losing weight has never been so easy

Nowadays, every day is crowned as a special day. National Hamburger Day, International Nutella Day, National Nacho Day, and so on. But last week I heard that we celebrated Sweater Day for the fourteenth time. A day when we collectively turn down the thermostat. I don't know about you, but for me, the whole winter is basically one big sweater day and the heating really doesn't go off for that, but that's beside the point. Such a sweater day is good for the environment but also for the waistline. Because occasionally shivering from the cold can simply help you lose a few pounds without doing anything.

Do you get sick if you spend a lot of time in a fresh environment? No, our body actually adapts well to colder temperatures. This was shown in a study conducted many years ago by an American soldier. He put ten naked men outside in the cold for eight hours every day. Of course, there was a lot of goosebumps and shivering involved, because that's the fastest way our body creates heat. But after 14 days, most stopped shivering, and their bodies seemed to keep warm in another way. Thanks to this brave group of men, science later learned that our body produces ‘brown fat cells’ when we are exposed to the cold for a long time. Unlike normal white fat cells, the brown ones burn energy to produce heat. Those who always dress warmly will not have as many of these brown fat cells. Their production only increases when we are cold for an extended period.

Now I see the question marks appearing above your head and you are probably wondering just like I am if we lose weight when we dress a bit lighter. And indeed, my friend, it is true. You can indeed lose weight from the cold, because your body also burns calories when the brown fat cells do their job. “How much depends on the person, but as long as you don't eat extra to compensate for the energy burning, you will lose some weight,” says Barbara Cannon, a professor of biomedical sciences at Stockholm University. She adds the following: “People with a lot of brown fat cells have a natural resistance to insulin.” In this way, you could even combat or prevent diabetes and overweight.

According to research by Shingo Kajimura, a professor of cell biology at the University of California, you can already work on a bikini body by lowering your thermostat by about five degrees. “Two hours a day in a room of about 18 degrees is enough, as long as you don't dress too warmly. You need to be cool and shiver a bit, but you shouldn't freeze, of course.”

Sounds like a dream, becoming slim while shivering, doesn't it? Unfortunately, it's also too good to be true. As soon as you set your thermostat back to normal temperature, the brown fat cells will simply break down again. If you really want to do nothing for that ultra-tight body, you will have to declare every day as Sweater Day. And yes, before you know it, the mercury outside will rise and then you will really have to get to work....