Comparison of Physical Characteristics, Body Temperature and Basal Metabolism Between Thai and Japanese in a Neutral Temperature Zone

Abstract

The aim of this research is to compare the physical status, basal metabolism and some other physiological characteristics between native Thai in Bangkok, Thailand, and native Japanese in Japan, and discuss the results regarding acclimatization to tropical climate. Measurements of the Thai were made in September in Bangkok, while those of native Japanese were done in August at Nishinomiya(Japan). The subjects were adult males(20-22 years old)in both cases. Physically the Thai are generally a little shorter and more slender than Japanese in the mean value. The mean skinfold thickness for Thai was 8. 4mm, which is significantly less than that of Japanese(11. 0mm). The mean oral temperature measured under basal conditions was the same between both subject groups. The Thai showed a slightly lower basal metabolism per unit body surface, and mean skin temperature measured in a similar environmental condition was lower for Thai than for Japanese. The results of anthropometric measurements and physiological characteristics measured were discussed in view of physiology of acclimatization to tropical climate.It is well known that body shape, body size, deposition of fat and body fluids and basal metabolism of man change according to climate (LEwis et al. , 1960;YOSHIMURA, 1958;OGATA and SASAKI, 1975). The ratio of body surface area to body mass is related to body shape. Heat dissipation increases as the body surface area becomes larger and the heat produced metabolically in the body may be more Received for publication May 13, 1977 S.HORI et al.

Comparison of thermoregulatory responses to heat between Malaysian and Japanese males during leg immersion

“…Comparisons between Thais and Japanese (Matsumoto et al 1993), Malaysians and Japanese (Saat et al 2005) and Malaysians and Koreans (Lee et al 2004(Lee et al , 2009) have been performed without matching morphological characteristics between groups. Morphological variation itself resulted in different basal metabolism (Hori et al 1977;Taylor 2006;Tipton et al 2008). Individual morphological characteristics (Hori and Ihzuka 1986) such as body surface area (BSA) to body mass ratio (Havenith and Middendorp 1990) exert significant influences on individual responses to heat stress.…”

Heat Exposure and Multiple Sclerosis—A Regional and Temporal Analysis

“…For example, certain patient populations have been identified to be more sensitive to heat-related injury (e.g., elderly, females, and patients with decreased mobility or dementia, patients on medications that affect thermoregulation (e.g., diuretics or anticholinergics), and patients with disorders that compromise thermoregulation (e.g., obesity, hypertension, pulmonary disease, diabetes)) [33,34]. Also, individual-level differences may also explain these differences, such as individual climate adaptability to one's surrounding environment [35]. A Japanese study found that men who lived in hot subtropical zone and moved to colder temperate zones showed superior signs of heat adaptation than those who lived in the temperate region alone (e.g., less skinfold thickness (e.g., upper arm-5.3 ± 2.3 vs. 7.7 ± 3.2mm, p < 0.001) and more effective sweating with less salt wasting (0.022 ± 0.004 vs. 0.029 ± 0.008 mEq/l, p < 0.05)) [36].…”

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