Thermal and metabolic responses of men in the Antarctic to a standard cold stress

¹ Physiology Department, Arctic Aeromedical Laboratory, APO 731, Seattle, Washington

Thermal and metabolic responses of eight male subjects exposed nude for 2 hr to a standard cold stress (17 ± 1.0 C air temperature) were examined in the austral fall, winter, and spring at Little America in the Antarctic. Mean body, average skin and foot temperatures increased significantly after 3 months. Neither rectal nor finger temperatures were changed over the year. Although basal metabolic rates were unchanged, there was a significant decrease in the metabolic responses to the standard cold stress after 3 months in the Antarctic. It is suggested that these changes represent physiological adaptations to chronic cold.