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Changes in Body Temperature and Basal Metabolic Rate of the Ama
193 Wilderness and Environmental Medicine, 14, 193 (2003)
LESSONS FROM HISTORY Excerpts from:
CHANGES IN BODY TEMPERATURE AND BASAL METABOLIC RATE OF THE AMA1 BY
Bok Soon Kang, Seh Hoon Song, Chung Sam Suh, and Suh Ki Hong Department of Physiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, and Department of Physiology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
Oral temperatures of Korean [pearl] diving women (ama) were measured before and after diving work in four seasons of the year. Their basal metabolic rate, measured in four seasons, was compared to that of nondiving women who lived in the same community and ate the same diet as the ama. Average oral temperatures declined to 35⬚C after 10 minutes of work in summer (water temp., 27⬚C) and to 33⬚C after 15 minutes of work in the winter (water temp., 10⬚C). Average body temperature computed from weighted oral and average skin 1Excerpted and reprinted with permission from the Journal of Applied Physiology, Volume 18, Number 3, 483–488, 1963. Original style, spelling, and punctuation have been retained.
temperatures declined to 34.6⬚C in summer and to 30⬚C in winter. Duration of work periods was determined principally by water temperature, since oral temperature declined at a rate inversely proportional to water temperature. The lower deep body temperatures which the ama endure in winter do, however, prolong their winter work period. The BMR of nondiving women was the same as the Dubois standard throughout the year. However, the BMR of ama varied with the season, ranging from ⫹5 of the Dubois standard in summer to ⫹35 in winter. We conclude that the elevated BMR of ama during the winter is cold adaptation, induced by repeated immersion in cold water.
LESSONS FROM HISTORY Excerpts from:
CHANGES IN BODY TEMPERATURE AND BASAL METABOLIC RATE OF THE AMA1 BY
Bok Soon Kang, Seh Hoon Song, Chung Sam Suh, and Suh Ki Hong Department of Physiology, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, and Department of Physiology, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York
Oral temperatures of Korean [pearl] diving women (ama) were measured before and after diving work in four seasons of the year. Their basal metabolic rate, measured in four seasons, was compared to that of nondiving women who lived in the same community and ate the same diet as the ama. Average oral temperatures declined to 35⬚C after 10 minutes of work in summer (water temp., 27⬚C) and to 33⬚C after 15 minutes of work in the winter (water temp., 10⬚C). Average body temperature computed from weighted oral and average skin 1Excerpted and reprinted with permission from the Journal of Applied Physiology, Volume 18, Number 3, 483–488, 1963. Original style, spelling, and punctuation have been retained.
temperatures declined to 34.6⬚C in summer and to 30⬚C in winter. Duration of work periods was determined principally by water temperature, since oral temperature declined at a rate inversely proportional to water temperature. The lower deep body temperatures which the ama endure in winter do, however, prolong their winter work period. The BMR of nondiving women was the same as the Dubois standard throughout the year. However, the BMR of ama varied with the season, ranging from ⫹5 of the Dubois standard in summer to ⫹35 in winter. We conclude that the elevated BMR of ama during the winter is cold adaptation, induced by repeated immersion in cold water.