New research: Winter baths can increase fat burning 

One of the first studies to evaluate the effect of the winter bath on the body has now been published in Cell Reports.

The researchers behind the study have investigated what happened to a small group of men in Denmark who combined swimming in icy water with a warming sauna.  

The study involved eight young and healthy men who had bathed cold and bathed every week for the past two years.

To compare the results, there was a control group with seven men who were also young and healthy, but who did not use winter bathing. 

Brown fat was activated by cold 

The researchers found that winter baths consumed more energy and had less body fat.

The brown fat in the body was activated in the winter bathers compared with the control group who did not bathe. 

The brown fat that regulates body temperature causes the body to burn more energy when activated.

And the researchers could very well see that the winter bathers burned more calories than the hot tubs on land.  

- What the researchers see in winter bathers is that when they are in controlled cold, they increase their metabolism more than the control group and it consists partly of heat production in the brown adipose tissue, also most likely from shivering, says Barbara Cannon, professor emerita in physiology at Stockholm university that has been researching brown fat for 50 years and has read the study.  

May lead to weight loss 

Regular winter baths in combination with sauna baths can be a strategy for increasing energy metabolism, which can lead to weight loss, according to the researchers behind the study.

But the researchers point out that it is unclear whether it is the winter bath that leads to the increased fat burning or if there are other causes.

The study is also small, but still interesting according to the expert SVT spoke to. 

- It is a very serious study with the best and most modern methods we have.

Nevertheless, it is not possible to draw conclusions about whether winter baths and sauna baths are good or not.

There were differences between the men who bathed and those who did not.

But if these differences existed before they started swimming, and if they started winter swimming because they had a certain physiology, it is not possible to know, says Barbara Cannon. 

May increase brown fat 

Babies and young people have plenty of brown fat, but after the age of 60 it disappears more and more.

But it is possible to increase the brown fat, says Barbara Cannon.  

- Yes, it is possible to increase it through cold, of course.

This can be seen in studies of both humans and experimental animals.

But it works best in younger people and it is not those who normally have the greatest need for it, but it is mainly older people who have started to gain weight.

But I do not think they are ready to become winter swimmers, unfortunately.