Effect of Clothing Habit on Thermoregulation of Body A Comparative Study of Skirt and Slacks

스커트와 슬랙스의 의복착용습관이 인체의 체온조절에 미치는 영향

This study focusses on how the skirt or slacks wearing habit affects the female physiology in her daily life. The healthy female college students have been trained to wear either skirt (group A) or slacks (group B) from late August to early January in order to study the effects of clothing habit on thermoregulatory responses. Also, the themoregulatory responses have been compared the healthy students groups with a physical trained students group (group C) to examine the effects of clothing habit. The changes in body temperatures of students have been studied under the cool environmental condition (15$\pm$1$^{\circ}C$, 60$\pm$5% RH, 0.25 m/sec). The results were as follows: 1. Rectal temperature of the group A was 0.4$^{\circ}C$ lower at 36.9$^{\circ}C$ than that of the group B The groups A and B were found identical before the training, while the groups A and C were identical after the training. 2. Mean skin temperature of the group A was 1.2$^{\circ}C$ lower than that of the group B. The groups A and C were identical after the training. 3. The thermal sensation was reflected to be cool by the group A and to be cold by the group B. As for the humidity sensation, the group A felt average, whereas the group B reported between average and slightly humid. In the case of comfort sensation, the group A felt average, while the group B felt between average and slightly uncomfortable. In summary, the 18 weeks of training has provided the skirt group an improved acclimatization to the cold environment . This group also showed an insulative-hypothermic adapta lion in a cold ambient temperature, as was the case for the physical trained group. It is concluded that wearing a skirt for a long period of time can be helpful to human body through gaining of thermoregulatory abilities.