Carlos Solis
A new trial tested whether wearing a cooling vest helps people lose weight. Researchers at the University of Nottingham and Leiden University Medical Center (LUMC) split participants into two groups. Half the participants received a cooling vest and a gel-pack belt that the team kept overnight in a freezer so the packs stayed around 15°C. Participants wore the vest and belt over a thin T-shirt for two hours every morning while they continued their usual daily routines.
After six weeks, that group lost an average of 0.9 kg, and the loss came almost entirely from body fat. The control group did not lose weight and gained an average of 0.6 kg.
How it works
This is one of the first studies to examine the long-term effects of cooling on people with overweight or obesity. Vests like these can be worn at home, so cooling could be an inexpensive, easy add-on to healthy eating and exercise.
Professor Helen Bage from the University of Nottingham, a co-author of the study, explained the mechanism: “Daily cooling activates brown fat, which burns the body’s fat stores to produce heat. Wearing a cooling vest may train brown fat to become more active and could improve lipid and glucose levels and reduce inflammation — factors that help prevent cardiovascular disease.”
Cooling vest or ice bath?
The team presented the study at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, and the work received support from the Dutch Heart Foundation and the British Heart Foundation. The authors are now exploring whether other forms of regular cooling can lower inflammation, reduce obesity, and cut the risk of heart disease.
Separately, researchers in the Netherlands launched a study involving 34 women: half will take a 90-second shower on the coldest setting each morning to test whether cold showers help with fat loss.
Professor Bage added, “Our hypothesis is that cold showers and cold plunges could have similar effects.” She cautioned, however, that cold-water plunges are not the same as showers, because plunges trigger cold shock and other physiological reactions.
A cooling vest provides a longer, gentler exposure, while a shower is much colder. Researchers need to see whether those differences affect weight loss.
The small study’s results are promising: regular, moderate cold may activate brown fat and speed calorie burning. But this is not a replacement for proven weight-control methods — healthy eating and exercise. The team plans follow-up studies to confirm the effect and determine which cooling methods are most effective and safest for a wide range of people.
From The Guardian
Photo: Unsplash
