Do You Really Lose Most Of Your Body Heat From Your Head?
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Whose mom hasn't told them you lose most of your body heat from your head?
Rose from St. Paul wrote to us thinking it's true. So, is it? Good Question.
According to Mark Blegen, a physiologist from St. Catherine University, the answer is no. Blegen says how much heat a person loses from their the skin is related to how much of their skin is exposed.
For example, if a naked person goes outside, their head will account for about 10 percent of the body's heat loss because the head accounts for 10 percent of the body's surface.
Indiana University School of Medicine researchers Rachel Vreeman and Aaron Carroll wrote in a 2008 British Medical Journal, "If this were true, humans would be just as cold if they went without a hat as if they went without trousers."
But, Blegen, Vreeman and Carroll point out, if a person goes outside all bundled up without a hat, the heat loss from the head – percentage-wise – would be more significant.
Bottom line – follow Mom's advice. Wear a hat when it's cold.