Oral Temperature Changes among Overweight and Normal-Weight Subjects during Exercise under Hot Climatic Conditions

The overweight and obesity are considered as a risk factor for the heat strain. This study was planned to assess the oral temperature changes among overweight and normal-weight subjects during light and moderate exercises under exposure to hot and very hot conditions. An experimental study was conducted on 35 subjects with normal-weight and 35 subjects who had overweight. The subjects rested for 30 minutes. Then, each subject performed a light exercise (2.8 kilometers per hour on the treadmill) under exposure to very hot and moderately humid conditions for 60 minutes. In the next phase, subjects performed a moderate exercise (4.8 kmph on the treadmill) under exposure to hot and moderately humid conditions for 60 minutes after 30 minutes of rest. The oral temperature was measured every 4 minutes. The rest oral temperature of overweight subjects with body mass index more than 27kg/m2 was significantly higher than that of normal-weight subjects in both conditions (P<0.015). While the exercise oral temperature of overweight subjects with body mass index more than 27kg/m2 compared to that of normal-weight subjects was significantly higher only in the moderate exercise under exposure to hot conditions (P=0.001). The rest and exercise oral temperature of overweight subjects with body mass index more than 27kg/m2 was higher than that of normal-weight subjects when they performed a moderate exercise under exposure to hot conditions.