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Air-conditioning may keep you cool and comfortable, but did you ever think it could contribute to making you fat? When it comes to putting on weight, scientists this week say there may be more to blame than eating super-sized portions and engaging in couch-potato pastimes. They say indoor air-conditioning may be helping to keep on the pounds. It's not just the temptation to stay inside, lounging in the cool air. Keeping your body cool means less sweating, and less sweating means your are burning many fewer calories than you would if your body had to work to stay cool. The hotter it is, the more calories you burn even when you are sitting still.
Additional factors that could be slowing metabolism are a lack of sleep, genetics and even hormone differences in the womb. Even medicines may be working against this; weight gain is a significant side-effect for many drugs, including common antidepressants, blood pressure medications and birth-control pills. Although the effect of any one of these factors may be small, the authors say the combination could be substantial. So while a focus on diet and exercise is always wise, they say health practitioners may also need to consider other approaches to conquer the obesity epidemic.
With this Medical Minute, I'm Doctor Timothy Johnson.
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couch-potato :someone who spends a lot of time sitting at home watching television.This word shows that you do not approve of people like this 终日懒散在家看电视的人
metabolism:the chemical processes that take place in your body that change food and drink into energy 新陈代谢
womb:the organ in a woman's body or female animal's body where a baby grows before it is born 子宫
antidepressant:a drug used for treating someone who is depressed 抗抑郁病的药
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