Racial Variations to a Standardized Cold Stress

¹ From the Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, APO 731, Seattle, Washington

Healthy, male, Negro, Caucasian and Eskimo subjects were subjected nude to an air temperature of 17°C. Rectal, average skin and extremity temperatures, body metabolism, sweating rates and electromyograms were obtained at 5-minute intervals throughout the duplicate exposure periods for each individual. After 55 minutes of exposure, both the Caucasian and Eskimo subjects demonstrated an average rise in metabolism of 22 Cal/hr/m² above control levels of 40 and 55 Cal/hr/m², respectively. Negro subjects showed an increase in body heat production of only 10 Cal/hr/m² after 85 minutes in the cold room. Although the absolute levels of heat production differed for the Eskimo and Caucasian groups, these subjects responded in a similar fashion to the standard cold stress.