Effects of wearing a cold vest on caloric expenditure

Abstract

Purpose: To determine changes in caloric expenditure and heart rate when wearing the Cool Fat Burner and the Cool Gut Buster. Methods: Twelve male (aged 20.9 ± 1.78 years) and eight female (aged 22.4 ± 2.00 years) subjects sat quietly for a total of 90 minutes while heart rate and VO2 were recorded. Data collection was separated into three 30-minute phases: rest, low-intensity and high-intensity. Results: Average VO2 increased significantly across all three phases (rest: 295.6 ± 69.1 ml/min; low intensity: 333.0 ± 83.2 ml/min; high intensity: 372.8 ± 87.5 ml/min). Average heart rate decreased significantly across all three phases (rest: 67 ± 8.2 bpm; low intensity: 65 ± 7.1 bpm; high intensity: 59 ± 6.8 bpm). When VO2 was converted to caloric expenditure, it was found that 11.2 additional kcals were burned in the low-intensity phase compared to rest, and 23.1 additional kcals were burned during the high-intensity phase compared to resting values. Conclusion: Wearing a cold vest does significantly increase caloric expenditure. However, the magnitude of the increase may not be practically useful as a weight loss tool.