• Hi, I am the owner and main administrator of Styleforum. If you find the forum useful and fun, please help support it by buying through the posted links on the forum. Our main, very popular sales thread, where the latest and best sales are listed, are posted HERE

    Purchases made through some of our links earns a commission for the forum and allows us to do the work of maintaining and improving it. Finally, thanks for being a part of this community. We realize that there are many choices today on the internet, and we have all of you to thank for making Styleforum the foremost destination for discussions of menswear.
  • This site contains affiliate links for which Styleforum may be compensated.
  • We would like to welcome House of Huntington as an official Affiliate Vendor. Shop past season Drake's, Nigel Cabourn, Private White V.C. and other menswear luxury brands at exceptional prices below retail. Please visit the Houise of Huntington thread and welcome them to the forum.

  • STYLE. COMMUNITY. GREAT CLOTHING.

    Bored of counting likes on social networks? At Styleforum, you’ll find rousing discussions that go beyond strings of emojis.

    Click Here to join Styleforum's thousands of style enthusiasts today!

    Styleforum is supported in part by commission earning affiliate links sitewide. Please support us by using them. You may learn more here.

Something I've been curious about (random thought)

drizzt3117

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
13,040
Reaction score
14
If women tend to have higher body fat percentage than men on average, how come they always seem to be cold?
 

globetrotter

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Sep 28, 2004
Messages
20,341
Reaction score
422
just a guess here, but how about insullation between the core and the skin?
 

rdawson808

Distinguished Member
Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
4,122
Reaction score
4
Pretty random guess: it's not evenly distributed but rather is focused in two places: breasts and hips.

bob
 

Saucemaster

Sized Down 2
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
6,510
Reaction score
23
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

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
13,040
Reaction score
14
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

Distinguished Member
Joined
Mar 2, 2005
Messages
8,587
Reaction score
45
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

Stylish Dinosaur
Joined
Aug 26, 2004
Messages
13,040
Reaction score
14
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

Sized Down 2
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
6,510
Reaction score
23
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

Senior Member
Joined
Jan 7, 2004
Messages
441
Reaction score
0
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

Sized Down 2
Joined
Mar 9, 2006
Messages
6,510
Reaction score
23
Originally Posted by Jill
...Hunt down the big bears for dinner.

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


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

Distinguished Member
Joined
Apr 14, 2006
Messages
2,412
Reaction score
8
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...
 

Featured Sponsor

How important is full vs half canvas to you for heavier sport jackets?

  • Definitely full canvas only

    Votes: 55 36.7%
  • Half canvas is fine

    Votes: 59 39.3%
  • Really don't care

    Votes: 15 10.0%
  • Depends on fabric

    Votes: 26 17.3%
  • Depends on price

    Votes: 26 17.3%

Forum statistics

Threads
505,149
Messages
10,578,760
Members
223,878
Latest member
anaforli
Top