DO YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE IN THE WINTER THAN IN THE SUMMER?

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   csd1509posted 14 years ago

   DO YOU HAVE TO EAT MORE IN THE WINTER THAN IN THE SUMMER?

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   waterpark1posted 14 years ago

   Our bodies typically need an average of 2000 calories a day, this is independent of the weather or month. This amount does vary on body size, activity, and sex (male/ female)
   Typically we live indoors and do not have a need to store fat to help us make it through harsh winter months, therefore we do not need to eat more food depending on the month or weather.

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   Dark knight ridesposted 14 years ago

   If you spent a lot of time outdoors, with poorly protective clothes, yes, you would want to eat more calories. When your cold your body shivers to increase body heat. This causes more calories to burn than if you were inside a warm room. But since we don't typically spend a lot of time outdoors in the winter (which is why you're more likely to get sick, by the way), and when we are outside, we bundle up, the increase in shivering isn't enough to cause you to burn significantly more calories, so you don't want to eat more.
   
   In the summer, a different effect occurs. Being outside in the heat causes you to sweat more. The weight loss that people tend to see in the summer is primarily from dehydration, which can be deadly. And that to the increase in exercise from playing around outdoors, and you can see where it's easier to lose weight in the summer than the winter, when we're more stationary.

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   MikeNVposted 14 years ago

   Have to?  You eat based on caloric need.  If you are burning more calories you need to consume more to make up for the energy loss. What is ironic is most people in cold states eat more in winter because there is less to do.

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   jenntyl99posted 11 years ago

   I do not have any scientific evidence to support this answer but what I do have is my own personal opinion/experience.  I do not think you necessarily need to eat more during one season versus another.  However, I think that our bodies are inclined to adjust ot the shift in temperature during seasons by making us less hungry.  For example, during winter I tend to load up on high calorie foods or comfort foods (ie. mashed potatoes, mac n cheese, stuffing etc).  This is not the case during summer, where I am not as hungry for these foods or food in general and tend to eat less.  The foods I eat are generally foods like salad, pasta salad, and fruit salad.  So while I do not think we need to eat more or less during a season, I think our bodies naturally do this for us.

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