Physiology: Is there scientific evidence behind this Cold Temperature thermal loading Weight loss TEDMED talk?

He obviously has not heard of A theory which says the exact opposite....  The Hot Diet: The Real Reason You're Gaining Weight . . . and How to Lose It Fast and Forever by AJ Djo: http://amzn.com/0785222197 The point is, you are right to be skeptical, even though he is on the TEDMED stage.  I know of no longitudinal studies that support either theory...  Sorry, but the old method is tough, but works best ...  Eat less, exercise more.

I can adduce no figures but I strongly suspect that though the effect of thermal loading may be measureable, it is unlikely to be decisive or even substantial. A factor not mentioned and worth noting: Our calorie requirement decreases by approx. 5% per decade from age 20ish because our metabolic velocity decreases. To put it in the sort of terms used in the video - as we age it becomes increasingly difficult to turn up the thermostat and burn more. All other factors remaining equal, by the age of 60ish we need to consume 20% less calories to remain at the same weight. Diet and exercise remain at the core of all successful weight control. Look at the lifelong diet of the world's current oldest man - rice, vegetables and fish in very small helpings. http://www.ibtimes.com/jiroemon-kimura-worlds-oldest-man-ever-now-oldest-person-alive-975044This answer is not a substitute for professional medical advic...

This guy's findings have not been my clinical findings. I find that most people do no lose weight as quickly on swimming programs as they do on a bike or on a treadmill (similar caloric output). I believe that the people who live in warmer climates actually have an easier time losing weight that those up in the arctic circle. His theory makes no sense. I always think of human anatomy and physiology in a common sense way. The body doesn't go to burn more calories because it gets cold (shivering is a way the body uses to build up heat, but it's not a huge calorie burner). If this cold thing was true, everyone would've figured it out by now (e.g. boxers/wrestlers trying to cut weight). In a strictly common sense approach, the body would want to preserve fat in a colder climate. Fat is an insulator. In addition, the body would shunt blood away from the skin to preserve it and send it to the torso away from the muscles (where most of the calories would be burned). I am sure there are a handful of people out there that might have his response (just like there are people out there that get stimulated by Benadryl or get tired from caffeine). But to promote it to the masses as an answer to weight loss is ludicrous.

Short answer:  Brown fat and cold exposure can play a role in weight maintenance of leaner individuals;  but for most people, especially those trying to lose weight, cold exposure and thermal loading is an insufficient method. Unlike Michael Phelps, those people needing to lose a substantial amount of weight do not possess enough brown fat to support this weight loss method.    Here’s why:   There is some physiological validity to relations between cold-exposure and weight maintenance; but the importance of this relation in terms of weight management depends on body type and environment. There is contention in the obesity literature with some weight loss experts supporting a link between cold temperatures and weight loss, and other stating the link is not very strong. The general idea is that when exposed to cold temperatures your body expends more energy. Cold causes your fat cells, specifically brown adipose tissue, to burn more calories. Unfortunately, most people do not have substantial stores of brown fat, which is more common in hibernating animals and newborns.   Brown fat is a thermogenic tissue modified to heat. In most cells, a proton, or hydrogen, gradient (i.e. changes in positive charge or ion concentration across a membrane) is created by actively pumping hydrogen out of the mitochondrial matrix. Mitochondria are those organelles responsible for the production of ATP; it is the cell’s powerhouse. ATP is a chemical compound that stores high amounts of energy in its bonds; it is akin to the “money” your body must pay to perform a certain process. Muscles use ATP to power the contraction-relaxation cycle. In brown fat, the movement of protons and ATP production are uncoupled. Instead, protons passively move down their concentration gradient and into the matrix, where they are again pumped outside. The futile pumping process produces heat. You may remember during your prepubescent years only coming indoors because your mother told you “It’s to cold outside.” You however, felt fine. This is because you had your brown fat, while your mother had already moved through puberty, which is associated with the loss of baby fat. Thus, most adults have lost their brown fat, and that against which the “battle of the bulge” is fought, is white adipose tissue.   Brown fat has ample mitochondria relative to white fat.  Again, the mitochondria are the powerhouses of the cell, and numerous mitochondria suggest a given cell is energetically expensive. White adipocytes are primarily storage cells. During natural weight changes, you do not gain or lose white adipocytes, rather they increase in size as your body stores lipid, or fat in its chemical form. Weight loss is not about losing adipocytes, but shrinking them in size. Brown fat and other cells, including skeletal muscle, use lipid as a fuel source. This is why activity reduces the body percentage composed of white fat, and potentially why cold would also contribute to weight loss. (Side note: brown fat may be more related to skeletal muscle than white fat). The clincher is, this method would only work if an adult ahs retained sufficient brown fat or the formation of brown adipocytes can be induced by cold exposure or some other mechanism. Generally, those adults with the greatest percent composition of brown fat are lean. Some overweight individuals may be lucky enough to retain enough brown fat to expedite their weight loss protocol by utilizing cold exposure; however, this number is not enough to support a successful, commercial weight loss strategy.  It is unknown if increasing brown fat in adults is either possible or desirable.   Finally, it is important to reduce lipid stores in white adipocytes as white fat has important roles in hormonal/metabolic regulation. White adipocytes manufacture the hormone leptin, which regulates energy expenditure in the body. Typically as weight falls leptin decreases energy expenditure until more energy stores are available, and when weight increases leptin increases energy expenditure. The severely overweight, however, experience leptin insensitivity. These people become resistant to the effects of leptin and do not feel the “satiation” feeling following a meal. This typically leads to overeating and subsequent weight gain.   In conclusion because brown fat decreases with increasing weight, cold exposure is unlikely to serve any weight loss purposes for people without Michael Phelp’s physique. Thus, cold exposure as a weight loss diet, assuming slow or minimal brown fat formation, is an inadequate method.   For further reading the following is a great, easy source of information: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/240989.php P.S. Sorry this took so long.

To my knowledge, not by anybody other than the guy selling it, and that makes me a little doubtful. I think it's great that he lost a bunch of weight and think its worth pointing out that the two pillars of his plan, which he mentions after he's done talking about the therma-stuff, is basically turning vegan and working out a lot. Well, we know that works, but you don't get a chapter in Tim Ferriss' book and a talk at TED for saying it. Another thing he didn't mention is that Phelps isn't the only one who consumes massive amounts of calories. Some NFL players have been known to consume more than 15k calories daily for years and one of Dean Karnazes' more famous anecdotes was ordering and eating a whole pizza (3k calories) while he was running in an ultra marathon. There's nothing unique about elite athletes knocking down 10k+ calories per day.

dont condemn the tedmed clips premise.. for the use of one example used to simplfy the presentation     iniilially i Completely agreed with basic reasoning for increased activity and calculations here even concept of drag wrt swimming and I  applaud your answer. after i view the clip, i see it is not a scientifically specific explanation. The problem is that M. Phelps is a bad example from which one can discuss effects of cold. it gets all confounded. Remember that for light resistance, water's buoyancy actually negates gravity to some extent and can make some movements easier. Which is why it is used for rehab when there is3/5 or 4/5 strength in lower limb or trunk muscles. So some pool movement while subject to drag may be aided by buoyancy. but.....Brown fat with its non shivering thermogenic properties may increase energy demands in the cold and shivering also increases energy use.  Spend 4-5 hours in the extreme cold even while sedentary  and you'll feel it in your muscles. Also Michael Phelps sweats, but the evaporation is less and the cooling effect of perspiration is less as he is either in the pool or in a humid hot natatorium, but the basic science of forcing icreased energy production used to maintain temperature makes sense  upon watching the clip I see what he says makes intuitive sense. Sure you can do some calculations wrt mr phelps but using that example to attack his premise is wrong.. hes not saying dont work out jut that the icreaed demand of maintaining a core temperature is underestimated. finally the need for  hydration i not a respnse only to perspiration. Breathing  results in a tremendous amount of water loss, and cold dry air has lesswater in it accelerating the need for hydration as moisture is needed in inspired air.  So while I appreciate the calculations for m phelps...it is far more complex.. here is some reading. that sheds some light upon how hard it is to do simple exercise related linear calculations for mr phelps. dont condemn the tedmed clips premise.. for the use of one example used to simplfy the presentation http://books.google.com/books?id=Cx22TcXodrwC&pg=PA385&lpg=PA385&dq=cold+core++exercise&source=bl&ots=9IfclAWztI&sig=ird3DBA-ChHxcTpVM0WpkKKutwc&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IQWKUb60La2v4AOY8IDoDw&ved=0CIABEOgBMAw#v=onepage&q=cold%20core%20%20exercise&f=false from reading this it may be that low intensity exercise that still is accompanied by shivering reuires more energy in a cold environment but higher intensity leads to the reduced need for shivering and the effect is lost. Read the chapter just dont pull out one fact

There is a research paper on that matter: http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/601044.pdf And the research devised experimentally the precise coefficients what is an heat loss through body skin in water. E.g. * thin male 183cm, 80kg (ehem, well, let's assume thin) - hence 2 sqm skin surface * water temperature 16.6C * swimming (rather than resting), hence skin thermal conductivity 24.7 kcal/m2/h/C * 1 hour The energy use:  24.7*(36.6-16.6)*2*1= 988 kcal When simply resting that would be: 9.1*(36.6-16.6)*2*1= 364 kcal Though when shivering: 12.7*(36.6-16.6)*2*1= 508 kcal Note TC coefficients for obese people are much lower and less stable with water temperature. I suppose water movement could have comparable result to swimming as it greatly increases heat loss. Note: need to add to address some other comments. The pitfal of cold swimming is hunger after a session. There is separate research indicating that cold swimmers eat 44% more after session than cyclists or runners despite having burned similar amount of calories. Hope that helps. Maciej

The thing I don't understand about any of the commenters is how do you explain the voluminous peer reviewed published research on whole body cryo therapy? Which is the microcosm of mechanisms taking place in the greater thermal loading genus . Do I really have to set the phaser on citations? We are under thinking, or over thinking things on this thread. Not arriving enough on the golden mean. If liquid nitrogen is convincing my nervous system there is a legit challenge on for survival, or at very least conservation of favorable environment, does my physiology not compensate by various means? do these compensations not have correlations to what Ray has to say? are these compensations not rare and amazing compared to historic techniques? Is swimming in a water temp at say 18-20+ degrees below my homeostatic range not amortizing the aforementioned process? Is there really no relationship? See that? Yeah: the old guard notions fail quadratically with the cogency of the object moving through it.