Regional sweat rates in humans

Exposures to hot environments and high intensity exercise provide some of the greatest challenges to the thermoregulatory system. Under such conditions evaporation is the greatest avenue of heat loss from the body. Whilst regional sweat rate variations in humans are widely recognised, most studies only measure a small number of sites using a limited surface area, and generalise this data to larger regions. A consensus in the literature indicates that the highest sweat rates are on the forehead and torso, and lowest on the extremities. However, no study has quantitatively measured regional sweat rates over large surface areas of the body. Since sweating is related to the thermal state of the body, comparison of regional sweat rates between studies is further complicated by the use of different environmental conditions, exercise modes and work rates. A good meta-analysis of existing data is therefore problematic. The aim of this thesis was to produce detailed whole body sweat maps for male and female athletes, and untrained males, during two exercise intensities in moderate environmental conditions (25°C, 50% rh) with a 2 m.s-1 air velocity. [Continues.]