Shivering, but not adipose tissue thermogenesis, increases as a function of mean skin temperature in cold-exposed men and women

Skin cooling results in the activation of heat generating mechanisms to counteract heat lost to the environment. Here, we aim to understand the extent that variations in cold-stimulated heat production may be driven by differences in the contribution of shivering and non-shivering thermogenesis (NST) and the interaction with biological sex. Using a novel mean skin temperature clamping technique in healthy men and women, our data shows that cold-stimulated heat production rises with increasing shivering and myocardial oxidative metabolism in a skin temperature-dependent fashion. Shivering and myocardial thermogenesis were also moderately associated. In contrast, adipose tissue NST did not increase in a linear manner to reductions in skin temperature. Men and women displayed similar thermoregulatory responses, although women presented more pronounced shivering through a greater recruitment of lower-body muscles and greater number of motor units recruited. Thus, shivering contributes proportionally to cold-induced thermogenesis whereas adipose tissue thermogenesis displays an all-or-none response.