I would like to know what people think of the idea that a tendency to gain
extra body fat may be a survival stategy to cope with cold temperatures,
rather than periodic starvation.

If animals that occupy the coldest parts of our planet such as whales and
seals have large deposits of fat for this reason, it may have been helpful
to humans too.  It may even explain the disposition to put the fat around
the abdomen, thereby insulating the heart and other organs.

Is there any scientific evidence in humans of differences in ability to
survive cold temperatures as a function of body fat?   I wonder if two
groups of people of similar BMI but different waist-to-hip ratios have
different capacities to cope in cold tempertures.


Jennie Brand Miller  PhD
Associate Professor in Human Nutrition
Department of Biochemistry  G08
University of Sydney
NSW 2006  Australia
Phone: (61 2) 9351 3759
Fax: (61 2) 9351 6022