Why kids don’t get as cold as adults do

There's a special kind of fat that kids have more of.
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55 degrees in the summer feels colder than 55 degrees in the winter. And 55 degrees as an adult likely feels colder than 55 degrees as a kid. But it’s not just a feeling. It all has to do with how our bodies use fat - specifically brown fat, a lesser-known type of fat that can produce roughly 300 times more heat than any other tissue in the body.
Brown fat isn’t the type of fat that adds to our weight (that’s white fat). Brown fat has the sole purpose of being burnt for heating the body, and it’s extremely effective at that. It only appears in specific parts of the body: around the neck, spine, heart, and kidneys. (It clumps around major blood vessels, in order to warm the blood as it passes through the body.)
But brown fat is temporary and can adapt to pressure in a similar way to muscles. Check out the latest Vox video to learn more!
Note: The headline on this piece has been updated.
Previous headline: Why you get colder as you get older
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[@Vox]

This is the first of a series of videos coming every Tuesday in March, answering questions big and small about the human body. From sight to sound to hormones, subscribe to see more about the weird stuff inside of us. Thanks for watching!

[@thegreyman1575]

Have y’all considered talking about disabled history, or present findings? I’m a researcher, and it’d be awesome to work with y’all in producing some work. I tried finding your guy’s contact info, and I got a bit lost. Hope y’all are doing well!

[@randomtourist6656]

Every Tuesday in March. 🤔 Yall shud just say this is the first of 4 videos.

[@lucasjacobson1330]

Why can't you guys cite your sources in the video description... some of us like to read the studies.

[@rockysage7760]

Great

[@Digitalhunny]

And here I've been thinkin' for _all_ these years, that all of the collectively combined hot farts floating around down there, were what was keepin' them warmer than the rest of us?! Well, that & the fact that they NEVER, _EVER_ stop moving! They're always wiggling around & stinkin up the place, right?! 🤣🤣🤣💀💀

[@nelsonv741]

I recently turned 70 and am very healthy. As a kid and teen I used to run around in the cold with tee shirts and shorts. That slowly went to the wayside over time. I gained a lot of weight in my 40's and 50's and was always warm. Then I permanently lost over 100 pounds and for a couple of years always felt cold but now it's back to normal. Very informative video. Thanks!

[@achintyapandey2985]

Liar

[@toolbaggers]

The only way to 'permanently' lose 100 pounds is to get your legs amputated. No guarantees you won't start to pig out on McDonalds if you get dementia and you keep forgetting that you already ate.

[@oozly9291]

@Zaydan Alfariz average lifespan is 72 years globally meaning most people do in fact live that long

[@cooperreynolds5041]

Happy Birthday Nelson!

[@abcdefg4570]

I'm currently 17, I am from Finland, and I can easily go out in -15C weather for prolonged amounts of time in just a hoodie without freezing. Until I saw this video, I had no idea why I could do this. I guess I've just trained enough!

[@potatomatop9326]

You get colder as you get older because it rhymes.

[@boondocker7964]

Also, the cold gets stronger, as the days get longer.

[@camsheet4649]

Flex you were early enough to see that name for the video

[@SayAhh]

So if you go into a freezer then you'll grow quicker?

[@missasyan]

we will walk....so much slower (any of yall know "oh ms believer"? lol)

[@matt0_o]

thanks for the tl:dr

[@ollyollyoxenfree1337]

This explains why I never used to get cold. Born and raised in Chicago winters, my legs feel nothing. But after living in LA and Miami for 7 year I'm starting to feel the chill at 30 degrees, I'm an embarrassment to my family

[@mm8436]

This explains a lot. Like how I feel colder in my mid-30s compared to when I was younger (used to never year jackets). Also explains why people from cold climate can tolerate the cold better than people from warm climate.

[@Sirawxy]

It’s interesting that I see some opposite cases around me lol. My friends who lived in cold climate have less cold weather tolerant than those who came from warmer climates (including me)

[@AmandineClaireDubois]

@@Sirawxy I've never live south of the Mason-Dixon line and I can never acclimate to winter weather.

[@edgeribble]

There are many reasons ppl acclimate to cold and warm weather. Ur body has a lot of thermoregulation

[@heist4420]

This coming out right when my dad is complaining about how cold it is and I feel hot

[@McSlobo]

Does he have lack of some vitamins, iron, or something else? Might affect.

[@heist4420]

@@McSlobo Nope, pretty healthy. He’s just grown up his entire life in hot climates so he’s used to the heat more than the cold lol

[@alexanderrobins7497]

I *despise* when people demand I put on a coat. I only wear a thin waterproof shell when snowboarding to keep the snow off and reduce wind chills, and few times during a harsh winter when I was in Ukraine a few years ago. Most coats cause me to overheat even in freezing temperatures, and some people refuse to believe that.

[@GrantGraff]

My mother will start breaking out the winter coats once it dips below 70. She has 0 tolerance to cold.

[@KatharineOsborne]

I don’t know what you’ve done to the sound processing on this video but the speech was incredibly clear. I have auditory processing disorder and this was actually a pleasure to listen to. Every word was immediately intelligible.

[@MobiusPeverell]

Miles better than some of the garbled stuff Vox/Polygon has been putting out lately.

[@confusioned2249]

As someone who somehow feels wayyy colder than everyone else and is also a teen, I only really have one thing to say. YOU'RE TELLING ME IT GETS WORSE ?

[@sissy_christ666]

As someone who's about to hit mid 20's, I only really have one thing to say. YES IT DOES!

[@liandli]

AHAHAHAHAHAHHA you're about to wear jacket all the time😭

[@Psychol-Snooper]

You might have low thyroid. If you have other symptoms like tiredness, depression, higher weight, aches and cramps talk to your doctor. Also if you instead have nervousness, irritability, sweating (which could cause the cold) you might have insulin issues.

[@htnchair]

Im in the same boat

[@Psychol-Snooper]

@Zaydan Alfariz Thanks for sharing?

[@kimberlindy]

Now I know why when I would play outside sometimes my mom would ask me,"Aren't you cold and don't you need a jacket?" I never understood why she would ask this so often.

[@Manoj17Patankar]

'mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell' I dont think even dimentia will make me forget that ever..

[@locomotivetrainstation6053]

The internet lol

[@abc_cba]

Wow, I just realised that I was being rude to my 76 yo father since a few months saying that he feels cold all the time when the world doesn't. Gotta share this video with him and politely apologize. Nice that today is his birthday 🎉

[@DrTomoe-em7rs]

❤❤❤

[@MaxTheLegend_YT]

Congratulations to him!

[@Futurebound_jpg]

I remember as a child I wouldn’t even need gloves to play in the snow, my hands would stay reasonably warm. Now if the temp in my house drops below 20°C then im freezing and shivering violently!

[@OmnifyMyAss]

Point in case: you have stopped moving your body as much compared to when you were a kid. Start moving(exercises, walks, swimming) and you will feel much more comfortable

[@rspen2142]

I'm almost 40 years old, and I notice that I get colder a lot faster than I did when I was younger. But, with this being said, it still feels like a sauna in my grandparents house most time. This explains a lot.

[@yukasketch]

Mystery is solved. I remember being annoyed at my mom for forcing me to wear think layers of clothes even though I wasn't feeling cold, but now that I grew up I get cold so easily and wonder how I didn't get cold back then

[@nicholasharvey1232]

I actually handle the cold better now as an adult than I did as a kid. Partly this is because I was quite thin until I was a teenager. I also hated the cold, being used to the normally hot weather of Mississippi. Nobody had to tell me to put a jacket on until I was in high school, when started to "fill out" and acquire a taste for colder temperatures. Now winter is my favorite time of year, and I regret that it's coming to an end as I write this (it's 84 degrees here today)

[@Abitibidoug]

That's consistent with my observations also.

[@demm5]

I learn much more in these 5 minutes than in an entire month worth of biology lessons in my school.

[@milankaraba2850]

This definitely explains why I'm often times able to chill in -5 degrees in a hoodie while my parents were shivering in heavy coats

[@tacticallemon7518]

doesn’t explain how one of the teachers back in highschool was handling a thick winter coat in a room that was near 80 degrees

[@nogrammer]

​@@tacticallemon7518 probably anemic

[@mooseears9849]

Celsius or Fahrenheit (basically just a normal winter day vs frozen hellish moonscape)?

[@the_real_hislordship]

The South African here does not understand 13°C being warm enough for shorts and a T shirt. Around 20°C is starting to need the warm clothing.

[@aisha_cookie217]

south africa is just chile being shy

[@roboluigi]

Amazing video. I always felt like I would sort of “adapt” to the cold as the winter went on, but never had a realistic explanation as to how this was possible. That was a mystery I never knew how to solve or where to start researching. Now I know

[@finnigan16]

The warmth you feel from sunlight in the winter is called "apricity", and I absolutely love that feeling in late winter.

[@lucasharvey8990]

For two years in highschool I committed to losing weight by skipping the bus and walking/jogging everywhere. It was Wisconsin, and it got really cold. I remember that over time I built up a tolerance and started having to stop and put my coat in my backpack because I was so warm, despite it being 20 F. Then I went to bootcamp, spent time in South Carolina, and upon coming home for Christmas I had to put on 3 layers to stop from shivering all over. I thought it was just me losing my tolerance, but it looks like I unintentionally lost the wrong sort of weight! That's so funny to me.

[@drrd4127]

Explains why after living 20 years in Australia, I went back home to my village in Scotland and the cold was unbearable compared to when I grew up there.

[@shiv1g]

This is soo true. Now I can prove my mom that I was not acting cool and pretending that I don't feel cold.

[@s.l.3281]

This is not just life changing but IDENTITY changing!!

[@introvertswag6494]

I always wondered why 50f in spring felt nice and warm compared to 50f in fall. Now I've got a good explanation and I learned something

[@GoldenLegionHoney]

This makes sense. I lived in Alaska for 8 years where if it was above freezing it was tshirt weather and now that i've lived in texas for just as long i can bear the heat much better but now i am alot colder in warmer temps. So this makes alot of sense.

[@AJFlo-gi8vx]

This explains why I am cold all the time. My parents migrated to the USA from Mexico City in 2001; they did not know how cold it could get in Nebraska, so raising a baby was quite difficult. I consider myself the experiment, baby, because in the winter, my parents would wrap me up in a blanket after a blanket. I got so sick to the point that I was taken to the hospital on multiple occasions. My mother felt like she was the worst because I kept getting sick. I think this explains why I get cold very easily even as a teenager. I am now 20, and my body is slowly adapting to deal with the cold.

[@ReeseWitherknife]

Friendly advice from an audio engineer: I love your content, but something went wrong with the audio on this video. Move the mic at least 3-4 inches away from the mouth of whoever does voiceover. Then in post, don't compress it so hard. Just turn up the audio instead and put a limiter on to catch the peaks if they're too loud.

[@pardisranjbarnoiey6356]

This video answered so many questions I didn't know I had!

[@peace4myheart]

I have always hated as a teenager when I go out and my mom made me wear a jacket because I didn't feel cold. Guess there was a reason for it.

[@rf9786]

Vox really stepped up their video quality. Great work as always Edward.

[@baboono6138]

I remember being 18 and never feeling cold when everyone around me did

[@reffman]

Wait, I thought it was the other way around. That's why buildings are always set to freezing temperatures is for the old people that get hot all the time.

[@yolanda6392]

Same…

[@mizurily]

At first I thought the title meant that people lose their childhood warmth as they got older😳😂

[@hannahwatermelon]

I thought that the only reason the temperatures feel different is because of getting used to being cold, a warm temp feels much warmer than if you are used to the warm and it turns cold. I'm sure that is also a reason, but I had no idea there was a physical reason for this!

[@onionbubs386]

I was wondering about this! I work as a nanny and the number of times the kids insist they don't need a jacket or socks has always astounded me.

[@andrewsaul2497]

This was actually really cool I enjoyed this vid quite a bit. Keep it up!

[@TheWhyer]

When fall hits, I always spend a few weeks intentionally acclimating to the cold by wearing less clothes than feels comfortable and taking swims late in the year. Then, by the time winter really hits, I feel much more comfortable than I think I would have (and anecdotally, more comfortable than most other people in winter).

[@gstephenson9442]

When I was a teen I loved Winter now I absolutely hate it. Like I can’t even tolerate going outside

[@prabalmishra9528]

Is this why our grandparents are so cool?

[@Visionery1]

I experienced the exact opposite, up to the age of 53 I couldn't handle the cold: in winter electric blankets, multiple blankets, socks, long-sleeved pyjamas and a beanie were the norm, then, from one week to the next, it changed, I experienced hot flushes etc. - some say it was the onset of MENopause.

[@fourcatsandagarden]

I really started noticing this over the last couple years. I never felt as cold as I have lately even tho the winters keep getting more and more mild because of climate change.

[@McGrawFeathers]

Oh my god. In Japan we have an old saying “kids are children of the wind 子どもは風の子” basically meaning that kids can handle any cold. Which is why some schools enforce shorts for winter uniform. We’d do phsyical ed outside and if we’re cold, the adults would tell us to just huddle to warm up, while they wore long sleeves. I used to say this was abuse from time when they didn’t have western science and the adults just wanted all the cloth for themselves. turns out the saying was true…

[@alexanderrobins7497]

I heard school in Japan don’t use heaters during the winter too. Sounds like my type of lifestyle (and uses less electricity too).

[@zynfalde]

Gosh

[@UriMachine]

Wait, so the fact that I'm always cold in class is a bad thing?

[@wellesradio]

Yes! I always said this! As soon as I turned 20, I was already reaching for the coat and umbrella

[@Yourstrulyseth]

I wish they explained more about why it’s “hard to dose cold”.

[@OG89]

finally i get it! personally, -10 is very warm for me in winter, now I know why. thank you!

[@lawrencepsteele]

I've ALWAYS had low tolerance to cold. Even as a teen in Texas, I'd easily get cold in the Autumn. I've been living in the Chicagoland area for nearly 30 years and I still get chills when temps are in the low 60s, though tolerance level is indeed better in "Spring" than in the Autumn. Now I have an answer to "why?"

[@Xencam]

It's amazing how such fundamental parts of the body aren't known to most people. Ya learn something new everyday

[@kassandramarie3789]

I’m sick of freezing. I am 26 and when I turned 25 I started getting way way colder than normal, even in nice warm weather a slight breeze is enough to make me shiver. It’s really starting to p1$$ me off.

[@Caterfree10]

One of the folks I follow on twitter had moved from New York to California and went home for a visit with family recently and noticed how unsuited he was to New York’s winters recently. Apparently this explains why, lol.

[@AX1.1]

Great video !! I never knew that ! I love this guys videos! Imma go tell my grandma as she is always cold 😂

[@nomadMik]

A couple of my partners are going through menopause, and we thus prefer different (and varying) temperatures. I'd love a video about what causes the hot flashes.

[@PhysicalEntity]

Interesting choice of words for the title

[@derheadbanger9039]

I knew it! So, my mom was always wrong when she yelled I had to wear a jacket when going outside!

[@blueconversechucks]

I've heard from people who live in Ghana and Phoenix that they can feel chilly even when the temperature is well above eighty and this would explain that.

[@Dr.SyedSaifAbbasNaqvi]

I want to be a kid again so that all my worries go away and moreover I would rather go back to the 90's than being in the present.

[@9rit]

You cannot say Mitochondria without saying "Powerhouse of the cell"

[@DJPJ.]

I got cold much more easily when I was little than now.

[@robbieaulia6462]

This explains why I sweat so much even though it doesn't feel hot for me while everyone else don't.

[@catatonicbug7522]

I'm 46, and have recently discovered that a "comfortable" indoor temp for me is 77-80F. I freeze in my office job, where everyone sets the thermostat at 72F. I feel silly wearing a sweater to work when it's 100 degrees outside, but I've gone so far as to buy gloves designed for typists to keep my hands warm.

[@uma_918]

Looking forward for this series of videos.

[@RandomImpluses]

Thank you! Ive always wondered about this! I appreciate how direct your videos are

[@Lalit-yw2tb]

You always learn something new everyday on the interwebs. Really nice.

[@sapphyrus]

Finally they solved this. I just sent it to my family who have annoyed me for decades telling me to put on something when they felt cold!

[@The_mrbob]

I’m confused, 55 F is freezing. So I then assumed you were talking about Celsius. But 55 Celsius is 131 F, which is pretty hot. Do people not on the West coast really consider the 50s, 60s, and 70s hot?

[@tristenwalker6256]

As a resident of the Great White North, being cold is almost comfortable to me at this point. Going outside in -20 weather is an easy day.

[@orangehoodie3]

This video answered so many questions I had and was so well done!!

[@SolitaireShovel]

So this is why that one kid keeps wearing shorts in the winter

[@archiemiras3073]

It is amazing how body is equipped with all the tiny little things.. and every functions are for survival..

[@Braham_the_Terror]

Very cool thumbnail, Vox. Cudos to the graphic designer! 💙

[@mc-ge2bt]

I love the science here but I have been very sensitive to cold my entire life. Its largely because I have mostly lived in states and cities with harsh winters where I have to commute to school or work on public transportation and homes weren't very well heated. As a child my bestfriend was my hoodie with the hood on indoors and I'm still the same way.

[@neyou6940]

There are always exceptions

[@mar-k7104]

Took me 30 seconds to zone into the video bc my brain initially recognized it as an ad so I had to rewind haha

[@methos1999]

This really does explain a lot.

[@resourceress7]

This is interesting, thanks. Also, I found the music and the little drum sound effect fun.

[@davecorry7723]

One of the strangest vocal affects I've heard on KZbin. It's like every sound he makes it is a plosive. Sooo many pops and clicks at places within words that I've never heard before. Very interesting.

[@infoharvester]

Vision is blurry in one eye. Was confused as to why ; this video explains a lot 😌

[@aurkom]

Why do I feel cold when my dad doesn't-

[@chuforeichi]

That explains why im better at handling cold than my family members. I had a broken window for years that let the winter air through. Now I only need a small blanket while everyone else needs big blanket through winter.

[@facundococo5567]

Huh. I immigrated to Canada as a middle-schooler from Mexico and was completely appaled by the cold. I guess this explains why Im used to it now.

[@pau8727]

Why this is not explained at school?! Thanks a lot!

[@acmulhern]

I built up my cold tolerance over the last 5 years. Now I know how 🙂

[@KristenRowenPliske]

My kids run warm in the winter. I’m overweight, so I don’t need to bundle up too much either but I always worried about my kids. And now I know why. Course we live in Texas, so the winters rarely get very cold.

[@vinching926]

There's a kind of cold from adults to kids called "I'm feeling you're cold"

[@boogiman007]

i always wondered about this... this explains a lot, thanks!

[@Munchausenification]

is it just me or is youtube videos getting louder? I keep having to lower the volume when going on youtube because the videos are so much louder nowadays. Oh and very interesting video!

[@EmilieBlueBerry]

I think you are right. I have been having the same problem: I am listening on the lowest possible settings and it is still very loud.

[@thumbtak123]

I was always cold as a child. I am still just as cold as an adult. I do not feel any changes.

[@residentevil4life]

oh good its not just me. I used to be much heavier in my teens and had zero problem wearing short sleeve shirts throughout the winter but nowadays in my 30s I find myself easy to getting cold

[@arnedejong1811]

I took nearly everyday a cold shower first thing in the morning for the past 3+ years, and in the summer i nearly never shiver and also in the winter most of the times i have it warm or not cold (i live in the netherlands) and if it's 15 degrees Celsius and there's not much wind i can really enjoy walking around shirtless. Great deal for me 🤝🏻

[@Rukain]

Great information!! Thanks for the video.

[@iprobablyforgotsomething]

I have Reynaud's so I'm always cold (even in hot weather, I take a while to warm up overall, and my hands and feet usually stay cold). But even so, as a kid I used to run around in shorts and short-sleeved t-shirt for soccer games in the rain, and be okay until I stopped running for in-between breaks. Nowadays, I'm cold at 68 degrees when walking while wearing leggins, jeans, two layers of shirts and a jacket. . I'd happily pop a mirabegron pill however often in order to stop having my feet quite literally go numb at not-even-60 degrees. It's proven unsafe for me to even just walk uneven surfaces when I can't feel the ground sufficiently in my shoes, especially thicker ones like boots in winter. : /

[@micah_lee]

I always knew the effects to be true but now to have a scientific basis for it is great

[@hul8376]

older or people older than 25 are usually much less physical active during the day compared to when younger, some people sit way to much still also will be colder!

[@railysbunnylife]

Wow! Very interesting 😮

[@bukharijabarazman2700]

*promptly shows this to my mum*

[@pourdamghani]

Awsome video :D Concept is great, visuals too, and story is catching. Great Job. p.s.: I like your previous thumbnail that had a blue background much more, I am not sure if I understand new one with the purple background.

[@josecarvajal6654]

As someone from the Caribbean I don't see any context in which I would consider 13°C as warm weather, in my city when it gets bellow 20° (rarely happens) every one loses their mind about how cold it is

[@nemowindsor8724]

I was freezing all the time as a kid, and am much warmer now. My parents would never be as cold as I. Not until they became elderly and the cold started to go through them, by which time i was an adult and don’t feel the cold the same. I still think kids feel the cold more than adults.

[@jdurkin12]

this is for the kids in *every* school that always wear shorts & t-shirts the whole entire winter

[@atiefilham9922]

I really hope vox would discuss something about the willow project so that people understand how concerning it is