Researchers say women really do sweat far less than men, particularly during intensive exercise.
On average, they tend to perspire half as much after similar amounts of physical activity in the same temperatures. Scientists believe that thousands of years ago men evolved to sweat more than women as they tend to be more active, reports the Daily Mail.
They needed to cool down quickly while hunting wild animals in sweltering heat, for example, according to the journal Experimental Physiology. Conversely, women evolved to sweat less, the experts believe. Their smaller bodies contain less water than men’s so if they perspire too much, there is a danger they will become dehydrated.
Japanese researchers warn that women may be more at risk from heat stroke as their bodies are not as good at naturally cooling themselves down.
But the scientists also discovered that very fit people sweat the most, regardless of sex.
Yoshimitsu Inoue, who led the study at the Universities of Osaka and Kobe in Japan, said: “Women generally have less body fluid than men and may become dehydrated more easily.”
The study looked at 37 women and men, half of whom were fit and half unfit.
Volunteers were asked to pedal an exercise bike for an hour while the researchers measured their sweat output.
Although they did not measure the hormone among their subjects, the researchers suggest the hormone may play a role in their results. And, this is also the first study to probe sex differences in effects of physical training on sweating response during exercise.