Something I've been curious about (random thought)

[drizzt3117]

If women tend to have higher body fat percentage than men on average, how come they always seem to be cold?

 

[chrysalid]

cold-hearted

 

[globetrotter]

just a guess here, but how about insullation between the core and the skin?

 

[rdawson808]

Pretty random guess: it's not evenly distributed but rather is focused in two places: breasts and hips.

bob

 

[Saucemaster]

http://www.straightdope.com/columns/020607.html That's pretty much all I could find on it. I think the part about men having more muscle mass, especially proportionally, is probably a lot of the answer. But I have definitely witnessed the same phenomenon a million times over--I walk outside, it's 30 degrees, and I think, "Good thing I wore a jacket over this shirt". My fiancee walks outside and immediately starts cursing the fact that she didn't bring her big puffy down coat that day. The button-up/sweater/wool coat just isn't enough! EDIT: The vasoconstriction idea is kind of interesting, too.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by rdawson808

Pretty random guess: it's not evenly distributed but rather is focused in two places: breasts and hips.

bob

I was thinking about that as well, but empirical evidence suggests otherwise, because women will still report higher body fat percentages on a caliper test that goes around the arm, which shouldn't take those areas into account...

 

[odoreater]

Originally Posted by drizzt3117

I was thinking about that as well, but empirical evidence suggests otherwise, because women will still report higher body fat percentages on a caliper test that goes around the arm, which shouldn't take those areas into account...

I thought caliper tests were taken on 5 - 9 different spots on the body and then those numbers were entered into an equation which merely predicts body-fat percentage. No caliper test taken on only one spot on the body would be anywhere near accurate. In fact, caliper tests taken using the method I described above are often inaccurate as well. The only way to get an accurate body-fat percentage measurement is using a water displacement test, an MRI, or a DXA (dual energy x-ray absorptiometry).

Regarding the original topic, maybe women just like to complain more. Maybe she feels the same amount of cold you do, but you're a man so you grin and bear it whereas a woman can whine about it.

 

[drizzt3117]

Originally Posted by odoreater

Regarding the original topic, maybe women just like to complain more. Maybe she feels the same amount of cold you do, but you're a man so you grin and bear it whereas a woman can whine about it.
That could certainly be true. Personally I like extremes in temperatures so I can understand why my companions would notice hot or cold temperatures though, female or otherwise. The last several days have been unpleasant of late though, more info in the Beating the Heat thread.

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by odoreater

Regarding the original topic, maybe women just like to complain more. Maybe she feels the same amount of cold you do, but you're a man so you grin and bear it whereas a woman can whine about it.

I know (or at least I assume) this was written mostly in jest, but for my part, I know that many of my female friends/coworkers/etc will complain about the cold at times when I literally do not even feel cold--no grinning and/or bearing involved. And I'm a skinny mofo.

 

[Jill]

From what I've heard/read, it's the muscle mass thing. Men's bodies are designed to burn energy (calories) which creates heat, so that they can go out and hunt down the big bears for dinner. Women's bodies are designed to carry children and protect the cave while Daddy's away. The fat on women especially tends to accumulate around areas where it would help to protect a child in the womb and/or reproductive organs in general.

There are different funcitions of the enzymes in mens fat cells compared to those of a womens. The whole thing kinda annoys me, personally.

 

[Saucemaster]

Originally Posted by Jill

...Hunt down the big bears for dinner.

Jill, have you been watching The Colbert Report?! Well, I never!

The whole thing annoys my fiancee, too. I learned very quickly to stop saying things like, "What? It's not *that* cold..." unless I was looking for a fight.

 

[designprofessor]

Originally Posted by Jill

From what I've heard/read, it's the muscle mass thing. Men's bodies are designed to burn energy (calories) which creates heat, so that they can go out and hunt down the big bears for dinner. Women's bodies are designed to carry children and protect the cave while Daddy's away. The fat on women especially tends to accumulate around areas where it would help to protect a child in the womb and/or reproductive organs in general.

There are different funcitions of the enzymes in mens fat cells compared to those of a womens. The whole thing kinda annoys me, personally.

Really we're ok with fish, we're hunting bears 'cause the women want the skin for a warm coat...