Question

Sarah is quite proud of her slender, model-like figure and boasts that she does not have an ounce of excess body fat. Lauren, in contrast, is grossly overweight. She complains of feeling hot most of the time, and on a hot day, she is miserable. Sarah generally feels chilled except on very hot days. Explain the relative sensitivity to environmental temperature of these two women.

Answer 1

Humidity affects our perception of temperature, making people feel hotter on humid days as sweat does not evaporate efficiently. Sarah feels chilled except on very hot days due to the efficient cooling through sweat evaporation on dry days. Lauren, being overweight, feels hot most of the time, and the reduced sweat evaporation on humid days exacerbates her discomfort.

Step-by-step explanation:

One factor that affects our perception of temperature is humidity. On humid days, sweat does not evaporate from the skin as efficiently as it does on dry days. This is because the air is already saturated with water, reducing the evaporation rate from the skin's surface. As a result, people tend to feel hotter on humid days.

In the given scenario, Sarah feels chilled except on very hot days because her body is efficient at cooling down through sweat evaporation. On hot, dry days, she can effectively cool down as the evaporation of sweat from her skin cools her body. On the other hand, Lauren, who is overweight, complains of feeling hot most of the time. This is because her body generates more heat due to excess body fat, and the inefficient cooling caused by the reduced sweat evaporation on humid days exacerbates her discomfort.