Thermal perception and physiological responses in males and females during mild cold exposures in different clothing ensembles

In the first study of this thesis 10 males and 10 females walked on a treadmill with a ~10 km/h wind and an ambient temperature of -8°C. The hypotheses tested included: 1) females will have lower skin temperature and surface heat flux while all other physiological responses are similar when compared to male, 2) within each sex, an elasticized (E) coat versus a non-elasticized (NE) coat would give a diminished physiological strain and 3) that within each sex, the E coat versus the NE coat would give a better thermal comfort. Results in this first study showed some differences in physiological responses between the sexes, that males had higher thermal comfort ratings in an E versus a NE coat during exercise (p