Why some people sweat more

You are in an air-conditioned room and everyone is looking fresh but your armpits are soggy and you don’t like the way your body smells, so you avoid proximity. Sounds familiar? Sweating a lot can be a big bummer if you want to look neat, clean and dry. And if your sweat stinks more than most, the matter gets worse. All this happens besides the fact that you are slim and indulge in moderate activity. Here are some explanations why you may sweat more than others.

The traditional thought: 

Traditionally, people have associated more sweating to having a higher body fat percentage and less sweating to a higher level of aerobic activity. However, a recent study at American College of Sports Medicine presented some results which contradicted the traditional ideas.

Body fat and aerobic activity associated with other factors: 

Though the traditional generalized rule may apply in many cases, there are many other factors which are associated to one’s body fat percentage and aerobic fitness which also play a keen role in determining how much you sweat.

More body fat means more weight: 

If you have a higher body fat percentage, it sure means that your body weighs more. Now, your body will have higher insular properties which may result in more sweating. This is what the traditional insight is. However, more body fat also means more body mass and this could also be the leading factor for more sweat production, and not the insular property of fat.

Higher aerobic activity means less weight: 

Aerobic fitness, also called VO2 max, can make a person leaner. Thus, less sweat production happens due to a smaller body frame.

Change in core temperature due to heat generation: 

The change in one’s core temperature was measured in terms of per unit body mass. This was in response to the heat generated by their body during pedalling with no ‘insulation effect’. This heat generation accounted for 50 per cent variation in one’s core temperature. 

Change in core temperature due to body fat percentage: 

The body fat percentage only affected 2.3 per cent of the variation in one’s core temperature. The percentages of the participants varied from 6.8 to 32.5 per cent.

This translates to this: If two people weigh the same and pedal at the same rate, they will heat up at the same rate. This would be true regardless of the differences in their height and body size.

Traditional wisdom false? 

One must note that traditional mindset is not false but only the reasoning behind it is not true. People with higher body fat percentage sweat more not because of thermal properties of sweat but because higher weight needs hauling.

Similarly, aerobic fitness in isolation does not make more than a 4 per cent difference in variation of sweat rate. However, it is more about how much heat your body is generating.