Thermal and metabolic responses of coastal Eskimos during a cold night

¹ Division of Applied Biology, National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada

Metabolic and thermal studies were conducted at night at Pangnirtung, N.W.T., on a group of ten Eskimo hunters from Cumberland Sound, Baffin Island, and on three white controls, to compare their reactions to cold (5 ± 1 C) with that of other racial groups. Cumberland Sound Eskimos maintained a resting metabolism that was elevated, according to DuBois standards, during sleep on warm nights. This elevation was not found in hospitalized men who had been living for an average of 6 months in Edmonton, Alberta. During exposure to moderate cold, the Cumberland Sound Eskimos and white controls had an elevated metabolism, shivering, and a disturbed sleep. Peripheral temperatures were maintained at a higher level in Eskimos than in whites. Because of the absence of marked physiological differences between Eskimos and whites, it is concluded that the principal adaptation of these Eskimos to their climate is technological.

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