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It may seem out of season in October to be writing about the intersection of sedentary lifestyles, obesity and air conditioning, but two new pieces (one from Grist via The Guardian and one from BBC News) got me thinking.
Exercising Regularly Helps You Better Deal With Heatwaves
The BBC article is about a study about the differences between how much and when men and women sweat, and how this changes for people that are trained or untrained (that is, whether they athletic or not).
It turns out (probably no surprise to many Planet Green readers) that both untrained and trained men sweat more than women. And physical training increases the amount of sweating for men more than it does women.
The research and article go into all the biological reasons this is, and it's quite interesting, but the part that really caught my eye was when the researchers say, "exercising regularly before a heatwave comes will help both men and women acclimatize better."
OK. Very interesting.
The AC-Obesity Connection, From Stan Cox
The Grist in The Guardian piece is an interview with author Stan Cox, who's been writing about air conditioning and its impact on society and planet. Planet Green interviewed him back in the summer. He's got a number of great insights into our air conditioning addiction, and I know what's his general take on the issue.
But here's the part this time around that got me:
Q. I thought it was interesting that you linked AC to obesity, in the sense that people are indoors more often and their bodies don't have to work to adjust to the temperature changes during the year.A. Right, that's one of the hypotheses that a group of medical researchers came up with to explain the rise in obesity -- the slower burning of energy by the body in the comfort range, where it doesn't have to work to either shed heat or generate heat (in addition to the normal explanations that people are eating more and exercising less). Another way AC could be affecting obesity is that people tend to eat more when in cooler conditions. And also, by making the indoors more attractive in the summertime, we've made it less likely that people are going to be outdoors where we're more physically active.
Right. And, hmm.
Air Conditioning Just Starts a Downward Spiral For Health
So, if people in general in the US are leading more sedentary lives—viz, we now have to have public awareness campaigns reminding children to put down the video game and go outside; not to mention the fact that more and more of us spend large amounts of time focusing 18" away on a computer screen—then many of us aren't getting enough physical activity to help us get used to hot temperatures in summer.
And need I remind you that heatwaves are only getting more normal?
Then, because we're not as comfortable in these hot temperatures—both physically and psychologically because we're told constantly by advertising that sweating is gross and social unacceptable, even though it's a good thing for our bodies when it's hot—because of this we increasingly turn to air conditioning to save the day.
Except that it's not saving the day, because 1) of the ways Stan Cox talks about having to do with obesity, which in turn make us less likely to exercise; 2) it makes us addicted to it for multi-layered reasons of comfort which I just hinted at; 3) it increases greenhouse gas emissions through increased electricity use, which is only making heatwaves more intense and frequent, in turn making it less comfortable to exercise for greater amounts of the day. And so on, and so on, and so on.
I know it's October right now and you probably don't want to think about air conditioning, if you live in the northern hemisphere at least, but we've got to break this cycle—for our health and the planet's heath, we have to break the cycle.
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More on Air Conditioning:
Author Stan Cox Explores Some Uncomfortable Truths About Our Air-Conditioned World (Interview)
How to Live Without Air Conditioning: Syrian Bee Hive Houses
27 Tips For Keeping Cool From Planet Green
Should We Declare Heat Days Like We Declare Snow Days
