Do our bodies adapt to hot weather by burning less energy?
You see, the more calories your body burns, the more heat you’re producing. Also the higher your metabolism, the more water you will need.
In cold weather, your body burns extra calories to produce heat. Producing heat requires energy, just like heating up your house.
Tortoises that live in the desert have very slow metabolisms, and this makes it so that they can go over a week without any food or water despite being in a hot climate.
Personally, I tend to gain weight in the summer without eating more food.
So maybe, we burn less calories in hot weather because we don’t need to produce so much excess heat if it’s already hot outside.
My understanding is the effect is marginal, at best. Supposedly, your body will burn a few more calories in the winter to keep warm, but it’s not a significant amount. Personally, I always gain weight in the winter, and lose it in the summer, but that’s because the types of food and my appetite in hot weather vs cold weather are different, and in the winter I prefer heavier food like stews and find myself more prone to eating as it makes me feel “warm.” Also, physical activity for me during the winter is usually lower, too.
Humans like homeostasis. When it gets too warm, we expend energy (calories) trying to stay cool.
If you gain weight in hot weather, it is more likely due to a difference in activity level or caloric intake (which is notoriously hard to estimate anyway) than a weather induced slowing of metabolism.
Our bodies certainly adapt to external temperatures. And there is some evidence that metabolism is less efficient in cold people, and that cold people eat more.
But the primary adaption Americans make is to wear more or less clothing when exposed to hotter or colder temperatures.
And the primary response to using more Calories is to eat more.
This makes it quite difficult to draw any wide conclusions.