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Association of ambient indoor temperature with body mass index in England
1Behavioural Science Centre, Stirling Management School, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
Objective:
Raised ambient temperatures may result in a negative energy balance characterized by decreased food intake and raised energy expenditure. This study tested whether indoor temperatures above the thermoneutral zone for clothed humans (∼23 °C) were associated with a reduced body mass index (BMI).
Methods:
Participants were 100,152 adults (≥16 years) drawn from 13 consecutive annual waves of the nationally representative Health Survey for England (1995-2007).
Results:
BMI levels of those residing in air temperatures above 23 °C were lower than those living in an ambient temperature of under 19 °C (b = -0.233, SE = 0.053, P < 0.001), in analyses that adjusted for participant age, gender, social class, health and the month/year of assessment. Robustness tests showed that high indoor temperatures were associated with reduced BMI levels in winter and non-winter months and early (1995-2000) and later (2001-2007) survey waves. Including additional demographic, environmental, and health behavior variables did not diminish the link between high indoor temperatures and reduced BMI.
Conclusions:
Elevated ambient indoor temperatures are associated with low BMI levels. Further research is needed to establish the potential causal nature of this relationship.
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