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Is that really true? Do women sweat much less than men?
Sweating is a natural function to regulate body temperature. The human body has two to four million sweat glands under the skin. It is often claimed that men sweat more than women. Is that true??
A completely natural process
Sweating is a natural process that fulfills various functions. On the one hand, excess heat is released during sweating and the temperature is regulated. On the other hand, sweat has a signal effect via the sense of smell. For example, an international research team has found in a study that sweat odor due to certain chemical substances can make other people happy. But most people would rather share the opinion that sweat smells unpleasant.
Although it is often claimed that men sweat more than women, Australian researchers have now discovered that the amount of sweat does not depend on gender. (Image: andriano_cz / fotolia.com) Various causes of sweating
Most human sweat glands are located on palms, soles and armpits, which explains why many people complain of sweaty feet or wet hands.
Even with nervousness, stage fright or anxiety we start to sweat. In addition, hormonal factors, dietary habits or disorders affect sweating.
It is often claimed that men sweat more than women. Australian researchers now report that this is not the case.
Men do not sweat more than women
A study by researchers from the University of Wollongong (UOW) in Australia and colleagues from the Mie Prefectural College of Nursing in Japan has shown that women perspire as much as men.
According to the research published in the journal "Experimental Physiology", the amount of sweat depends on height and not on gender. Big people sweat more than small ones.
"We know that all objects lose heat through their surfaces," said co-author Professor Nigel Taylor in a statement from the Australian University.
"If you compare a metal plate and a sphere of equal mass, both heated to the same temperature, the plate will cool much faster if it is placed in cool air because it has a larger area."
The same principle applies to humans, according to the scientists. Smaller people have more surface area per kilogram of body mass than larger people and can cool more efficiently by increasing the blood flow - the heat - on the skin surface. Larger people need more sweat to achieve the same cooling effect.
On the body size it depends
To get their results, the research team led by Sean Notley gave cycling to 36 men and 24 women in the lab twice for 45 minutes at a room temperature of 28 degrees and a relative humidity of 36 percent while their body functions were measured.
It turns out that men and women could regulate their body heat equally. At the sweat rate, gender differences were barely detectable in this experiment.
"We found that less than five percent of the differences in the heat loss between men and women could be explained by their gender," said Taylor.
On average, women are smaller than men, so an average-sized woman will probably sweat less than an average-sized man. "But that's because of their size and not their gender," says the university. (Ad)