Source: Daily Mail
They take a hot water bottle to bed in summer and are ridiculed for wearing their coat indoors.
But those who constantly feel cold may have the last laugh, with a study linking low body temperature to a long life.
Scientists suspect that the hormonal changes that conserve energy and heat – by slowing down metabolism – also extend life.
The U.S. research could pave the way for a pill to increase lifespan. It builds on decades of studies linking extreme diets in animals with extra months and years of life.
For example, cutting a mouse’s calories by 30 per cent can lead to it living 50 per cent longer than usual.
Scientists are trying to work out what it is about near starvation that extends life, in the hope of creating a pill that mimics the process without drastic changes to diet.
The latest study, from Washington University, St Louis, looked at how cutting calories affects core body temperature – an internal measure that is on average 37c (98.6f) and usually higher than skin temperature.
Read More: Always feeling cold? You are destined to live a long life
Cartoon by Bob Moran
