Shivering heat production and body fat protect the core from cooling during body immersion, but not during head submersion: a structural equation model.

Previous studies showed that core cooling rates are similar when only the head or only the body is cooled. Structural equation modeling was used on data from two cold water studies involving body-only, or whole body (including head) cooling. Exposure of both the body and head increased core cooling, while only body cooling elicited shivering. Body fat attenuates shivering and core cooling. It is postulated that this protection occurs mainly during body cooling where fat acts as insulation against cold. This explains why head cooling increases surface heat loss with only 11% while increasing core cooling by 39%.