The effect of repeated mild cold water immersions on the adaptation of the vasomotor responses

There are several types of cold adaptation based on the alteration of thermoregulatory response. It has been thought that the temperature of repeated cold exposures during the adaptation period is one of the factors affecting the type of cold adaptation developed. This study tested the hypothesis that repeated mild cold immersions would induce an insulative cold adaptation but would not alter the metabolic response. Seven healthy male participants were immersed to their xiphoid process level repeatedly in 26°C water for 60 min, 3 days every week, for 4 weeks. During the first and last exposure of this cold acclimation period, the participants underwent body immersion tests measuring their thermoregulatory responses to cold. Separately, they conducted finger immersion into 5°C water for 30 min to assess their cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) response before and after cold acclimation. During the immersion to xiphoid process, participants showed significantly lower mean skin temperature and skin blood flow in the forearm post-acclimation, while no adaptation was observed in the metabolic response. Additionally, blunted CIVD responses were observed after cold acclimation. From these results, it was considered that the participants showed an insulative-type of cold acclimation after the repeated mild cold immersions. The major finding of this study was the acceptance of the hypothesis that repeated mild cold immersion was sufficient to induce insulative cold adaptation but did not alter the metabolic response. It is suggested that the adaptation in the thermoregulatory response is specific to the response which is repeatedly stimulated during the adaptation process.     

Estimation of regional cutaneous cold sensitivity by analysis of the gasping response.

Regional cutaneous sensitivity to cooling was assessed in males by separately immersing four discrete skin regions in cold water (15 degrees C) during head-out immersion. The response measured was gasping at the onset of immersion; the gasping response appears to be the result of a nonthermoregulatory neurogenic drive from cutaneous cold receptors. Subjects of similar body proportions wore a neoprene "dry" suit modified to allow exposure to the water of either the arms, upper torso, lower torso, or legs, while keeping the unexposed skin regions thermoneutral. Each subject was immersed to the sternal notch in all four conditions of partial exposure plus one condition of whole body exposure. The five cold water conditions were matched by control immersions in lukewarm (34 degrees C) water, and trials were randomized. The magnitude of the gasping response was determined by mouth occlusion pressure (P0.1). For each subject, P0.1 values for the 1st min of immersion were integrated, and control trial values, although minimal, were subtracted from their cold water counterpart to account for any gasping due to the experimental design. Results were averaged and showed that the highest P0.1 values were elicited from whole body exposure, followed in descending order by exposures of the upper torso, legs, lower torso, and arms. Correction of the P0.1 response for differences in exposed surface area (A) and cooling stimulus (delta T) between regions gave a cold sensitivity index [CSI, P0.1/(A.delta T)] for each region and showed that the index for the upper torso was significantly higher than that for the arms or legs; no significant difference was observed between the indexes for the upper and lower torso.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Effects of high altitudes on finger cooling test in Japanese and Tibetans at Qinghai Plateau

The influences of both hypobaric hypoxia and cold on peripheral circulation were studied using the finger cooling test (measurement of the decrease in finger temperature, measured at the dorsal surface of the finger, during immersion of the hand in 0° C water for 20 min) at Qinghai Plateau. The same test was carried out at simulated altitudes in a 25° C climatic chamber to separate the hypobaric hypoxia influence from that of cold. In Japanese subjects at Qinghai Plateau there was a significant difference between finger skin temperatures (FSTs) during 20 min of 0° C water immersion at altitudes of 2260 m and 4860 m by ANOVA. Mean finger skin temperature during the 20-min immersion (5–20 min, MST) measured at 4860 m was significantly lower than that at 2260 m. In Tibetan subjects, there was also a significant difference between FSTs at 2260 m and at 4860 m by ANOVA. MST at 4860 m tended to be lower than that at 2260 m. In the 25° C climatic chamber, there was a significant difference between FSTs of Japanese expedition members at 2000 m and at 4000 m by ANOVA. MST was higher at 4000 m than at 2000 m, contrary to the data obtained in Qinghai. In conclusion, the higher skin temperature in response to local cold immersion, which would have been caused by stronger hypobaric hypoxia, must have been masked by the lower ambient temperature.     

Blood flow and muscle bio-energetics by 31P-nuclear magnetic resonance after local cold acclimation.

To clarify the origin of local cold adaptation and to define precisely its influence on muscle bio-energetics during local exercise, five subjects were subjected to repeated 5 degrees C cold water immersion of the right hand and forearm. The first aim of our investigation was therefore carried out by measuring local skin temperatures and peripheral blood flow during a cold hand test (5 degrees C, 5 min) followed by a 10-min recovery period. The 31P by nuclear magnetic resonance (31PNMR) muscle bio-energetic changes, indicating possible heat production changes, were measured during the recovery period. The second aim of our investigation was carried out by measuring 31PNMR muscle bioenergetics during handgrip exercise (10% of the maximal voluntary contraction for 5 min followed by a 10-min recovery period) performed both at a comfortable ambient temperature (22 degrees C; E) and after a cold hand test (EC), before and after local cold adaptation. Local cold adaptation, confirmed by warmer skin temperatures of the extremities (+30%, P less than 0.05), was related more to an increased peripheral blood flow, as shown by the smaller decrease in systolic peak [-245 (SEM 30) Hz vs -382 (SEM 95) Hz, P less than 0.05] than to a change in local heat production, because muscle bioenergetics did not vary. Acute local cold immersion decreased the inorganic phosphate:phosphocreatine (PC) ratio during EC compared to E [+0.006 (SEM 0.010) vs +0.078 (SEM 0.002) before acclimation and +0.029 (SEM 0.002) vs +0.090 (SEM 0.002) after acclimation respectively, P less than 0.05] without significant change in the PC:beta-adenosine triphosphate ratio and pH. Local adaptation did not modify these results statistically. The recovery of PC during E increased after acclimation [9.0 (SEM 0.2) min vs 3.0 (SEM 0.4) min, P less than 0.05]. These results suggested that local cold adaptation is related more to peripheral blood flow changes than to increased metabolic heat production in the muscle.     

Skin temperature changes in humans induced by local peripheral cooling

Local peripheral cooling (immerson of legs up to the knees into 12°C water) increased heart rate and blood pressure by 10–20% within the first 3–10 min of cooling. During further cooling heart rate remained elevated, while systolic and diastolic blood pressures decreased to the control value. Data on heart rate indicate a permanent activation of the sympathetic nervous system during local cooling.Skin temperatures (measured topically by thermosensors) decreased on some non-cooled areas of the body (fingers, palms and thighs) immediately after the start of local cooling. On the other hand, skin temperatures on chest and forehead were not influenced. During cooling skin temperatures on thighs remained low, but skin temperatures on fingers tended to increase. Changes in skin temperatures on non-cooled areas of the body indicate that a permanent and generalized activation of the sympathetic nervous system occurs during local cooling.Cold induced cycles of vasodilation (CIVD) were observed on fingers, palms and forearms during local cooling. Minute cycles in skin temperatures were observed on forehead, thighs and chest. Minute cycles coincided with those in the heart rate, indicating a permanent, generalized but discontinuous control of vasomotion by the sympathetic nervous system during local cooling.Infrared thermographic recordings from different body areas indicated that local peripheral cooling lowered skin temperatures in all areas of the body within 5 min. Distant areas of the body (extremities) and pectoral muscles showed greater hypothermia than abdominal areas and head. After 10 min of cooling average skin temperatures in all areas of the body returned to the original level and further fluctuated at approximately 10–15 min intervals.Data indicate that during local cooling skin blood flow in all areas of the body surface permanently fluctuates forming a mosaic of dynamic changes in skin temperatures. Since tympanic temperature increases, while skin temperature decreases immediately after the start of the local cooling, it appears that the initial vasoconstrictor response is being controlled independently of the central temperature input.     

Habituation of the metabolic and ventilatory responses to cold-water immersion in humans

An experiment was undertaken to answer long-standing questions concerning the nature of metabolic habituation in repeatedly cooled humans. It was hypothesised that repeated skin and deep-body cooling would produce such a habituation that would be specific to the magnitude of the cooling experienced, and that skin cooling alone would dampen the cold-shock but not the metabolic response to cold-water immersion. Twenty-one male participants were divided into three groups, each of which completed two experimental immersions in 12 °C water, lasting until either rectal temperature fell to 35 °C or 90 min had elapsed. Between these two immersions, the control group avoided cold exposures, whilst two experimental groups completed five additional immersions (12 °C). One experimental group repeatedly immersed for 45 min in average, resulting in deep-body (1.18 °C) and skin temperature reductions. The immersions in the second experimental group were designed to result only in skin temperature reductions, and lasted only 5 min. Only the deep-body cooling group displayed a significantly blunted metabolic response during the second experimental immersion until rectal temperature decreased by 1.18 °C, but no habituation was observed when they were cooled further. The skin cooling group showed a significant habituation in the ventilatory response during the initial 5 min of the second experimental immersion, but no alteration in the metabolic response. It is concluded that repeated falls of skin and deep-body temperature can habituate the metabolic response, which shows tissue temperature specificity. However, skin temperature cooling only will lower the cold-shock response, but appears not to elicit an alteration in the metabolic response.     

Sweating and tympanic temperature during warm water immersion compared between Vietnamese and Japanese living in Hanoi

The present study compared between Japanese and Vietnamese subjects living in Hanoi, the local evaporation rate by sweating and the tympanic temperature during legs immersion in warm water. Seven Vietnamese and seven Japanese (who had lived in Hanoi for 1-2 years) participated in the experiments, which were performed in April, 2001 in Hanoi (Vietnam). It was found that the tympanic temperature at which subjects started to sweat in the forearm was significantly higher in Vietnamese than in Japanese. In addition, the local amount of evaporation was significantly lower in Vietnamese subjects. We discussed the physiological reason for such different thermoregulatory responses in terms of different levels of set-point in the core temperature between Vietnamese and Japanese. It was concluded that the Vietnamese inhabitant commenced the sweating at higher tympanic temperature to identical warm stimuli and had lower sweating rate and higher tympanic temperature during the 40 min immersion of both legs to warm water than the Japanese inhabiting Hanoi for 1-2 years.     

Muscle glycogen availability and temperature regulation in humans

The effects of intramuscular glycogen availability on human temperature regulation were studied in eight seminude subjects immersed in 18 degrees C water for 90 min or until rectal temperature (Tre) decreased to 35.5 degrees C. Each subject was immersed three times over a 3-wk period. Each immersion followed 2.5 days of a specific dietary and/or exercise regimen designed to elicit low (L), normal (N), or high (H) glycogen levels in large skeletal muscle groups. Muscle glycogen concentration was determined in biopsies taken from the vastus lateralis muscle before and after each immersion. Intramuscular glycogen concentration before the immersion was significantly different among the L, N, and H trials (P less than 0.01), averaging 247 +/- 15, 406 +/- 23, and 548 +/- 42 (SE) mmol glucose units.kg dry muscle-1, respectively. The calculated metabolic heat production during the first 30 min of immersion was significantly lower during L compared with N or H (P less than 0.05). The rate at which Tre decreased was more rapid during the L immersion than either N or H (P less than 0.05), and the time during the immersion at which Tre first began to decrease also appeared sooner during L than N or H. The results suggest that low skeletal muscle glycogen levels are associated with more rapid body cooling during water immersion in humans. Higher than normal muscle glycogen levels, however, do not increase cold tolerance.     

Human thermoregulatory responses to cold air are altered by repeated cold water immersion

The effects of repeated cold water immersion on thermoregulatory responses to cold air were studied in seven males. A cold air stress test (CAST) was performed before and after completion of an acclimation program consisting of daily 90-min cold (18 degrees C) water immersion, repeated 5 times/wk for 5 consecutive wk. The CAST consisted of resting 30 min in a comfortable [24 degrees C, 30% relative humidity (rh)] environment followed by 90 min in cold (5 degrees C, 30% rh) air. Pre- and postacclimation, metabolism (M) increased (P less than 0.01) by 85% during the first 10 min of CAST and thereafter rose slowly. After acclimation, M was lower (P less than 0.02) at 10 min of CAST compared with before, but by 30 min M was the same. Therefore, shivering onset may have been delayed following acclimation. After acclimation, rectal temperature (Tre) was lower (P less than 0.01) before and during CAST, and the drop in Tre during CAST was greater (P less than 0.01) than before. Mean weighted skin temperature (Tsk) was lower (P less than 0.01) following acclimation than before, and acclimation resulted in a larger (P less than 0.02) Tre-to-Tsk gradient. Plasma norepinephrine increased during both CAST (P less than 0.002), but the increase was larger (P less than 0.004) following acclimation. These findings suggest that repeated cold water immersion stimulates development of true cold acclimation in humans as opposed to habituation. The cold acclimation produced appears to be of the insulative type.     

Effect of selected recovery conditions on performance of repeated bouts of intermittent cycling separated by 24 hours

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of active recovery (AR), massage (MR), and cold water immersion (CR) on performance of repeated bouts of high-intensity cycling separated by 24 hours. For each recovery condition, subjects were asked to take part in 2 intermittent cycling sessions; 18 minutes of varying work intervals performed in succession at a resistance of 80 g/kg body weight separated by 24 hours. One of four 15-minute recovery conditions immediately followed the first session and included: (a) AR, cycling at 30% Vo(2)max; (b) CR, immersion of legs in a 15 degrees C water bath; (c) MR, massage of the legs; and (d) control, seated rest. Only the control condition showed a significant decline in the total work completed between the first and second exercise sessions (108.1 +/- 5.4 kJ vs. 106.0 +/- 5.0 kJ, p < 0.05). Thus, AR, MR, and CR appeared to facilitate the recovery process between 2 high-intensity, intermittent exercise sessions separated by 24 hours.     

Effect of alcohol on thermal balance of man in cold water.

The effects of alcohol on core cooling rates (rectal and tympanic), skin temperatures, and metabolic rate were determined for 10 subjects rendered hypothermic by immersion for 45 min in 10 degrees C water. Experiments were duplicated with and without a 20-min period of exercise at the beginning of cold water immersion. Measurements were continued during rewarming in a hot bath. With blood alcohol concentrations averaging 82 mg 100 mL-1, core cooling rates and changes in skin temperatures were insignificantly different from controls, even if the exercise period was imposed. Alcohol reduced shivering metabolic rate by an overall mean of 13%, insufficient to affect cooling rate. Alcohol had no effect on metabolic rate during exercise. During rewarming by hot bath, the amount of 'afterdrop' and rate of increase in core temperature were unaffected by alcohol. It was concluded that alcohol in a moderate dosage does not influence the rate of progress into hypothermia or subsequent, efficient rewarming. This emphasizes that the high incidence of alcohol involvement in water-related fatalities is due to alcohol potentiation of accidents rather than any direct effects on cold water survival, although very high doses of alcohol leading to unconsciousness would increase rate of progress into hypothermia.     

Effects of age, sex, and physical fitness on responses to local cooling

The response to local cooling was estimated by the cold hand test (5 degrees C for 2 min) and the cold face test (0 degrees C with 66 km.h-1 wind for 2 min). Heart rate, blood pressure, and skin temperature were measured before, during, and after the tests. The increase in blood pressure (cold hand test) and the fall in Tsk (cold face test) were reduced in trained subjects. Similarly older subjects (53-60 yr of age) responded less to a cold hand test than younger subjects aged 20-40. However, the bradycardia caused by the cold face test was more pronounced in the older subjects. The responses to the cold hand and cold face tests were the same for male and female subjects. During the 2 min after the test, blood pressure and heart rate fell below initial values in the female group but not in the male. It is concluded that, besides adaptation to cold, individual factors such as age, sex, and physical fitness also have a relative importance in the responses to local cooling.     

Effect of uniform and non-uniform skin temperature on thermal exchanges in water in humans

We investigated the effect of uniform (UST) and non-uniform (NUST) skin temperature on thermal exchanges during a 3-h water immersion in five male subjects wearing (NUST) or not wearing (UST) a water-perfused garment. UST was achieved by immersing the nude subject in water up to the neck. For each subject, the water temperature was adjusted to the critical temperature ( T(cw), 31.4 +/- 0.9 degrees C) or 3 degrees C below T(cw) ( T(cw) - 3). NUST was achieved by perfusing different segments of the perfused garment with water of different temperatures. The water temperature of the segment was independently adjusted according to the skin temperature distribution in cold air, the mean skin temperature being the same as the UST. At T(cw) and T(cw) - 3, changes in esophageal and mean skin temperatures were identical in UST and NUST conditions, but the skin temperature of the trunk was higher and that of the limb was lower in the NUST condition. Heat production and the overall skin heat flux at T(cw) were identical in the two conditions, but those at T(cw) - 3 were about 25% lower ( P < 0.05) in NUST than in UST conditions. At T(cw) - 3, the overall tissue insulation was 36% higher ( P < 0.05) in NUST than in UST conditions, mainly because of higher limb insulation. Thermogenesis due to shivering was lower by 62% ( P < 0.05) in NUST than in UST. We conclude that the NUST condition increased tissue insulation and suppressed shivering. This suggests that a high skin temperature of the trunk attenuates shivering in cold water and increases the ability to defend body temperature more economically in cold water.     

Thermal insulation and body temperature wearing a thermal swimsuit during water immersion

This study evaluated the effects of a thermal swimsuit on body temperatures, thermoregulatory responses and thermal insulation during 60 min water immersion at rest. Ten healthy male subjects wearing either thermal swimsuits or normal swimsuits were immersed in water (26 degrees C or 29 degrees C). Esophageal temperature, skin temperatures and oxygen consumption were measured during the experiments. Metabolic heat production was calculated from oxygen consumption. Heat loss from skin to the water was calculated from the metabolic heat production and the change in mean body temperature during water immersion. Total insulation and tissue insulation were estimated by dividing the temperature difference between the esophagus and the water or the esophagus and the skin with heat loss from the skin. Esophageal temperature with a thermal swimsuit was higher than that with a normal swimsuit at the end of immersion in both water temperature conditions (p<0.05). Oxygen consumption, metabolic heat production and heat loss from the skin were less with the thermal swimsuit than with a normal swimsuit in both water temperatures (p<0.05). Total insulation with the thermal swimsuit was higher than that with a normal swimsuit due to insulation of the suit at both water temperatures (p<0.05). Tissue insulation was similar in all four conditions, but significantly higher with the thermal swimsuit in both water temperature conditions (p<0.05), perhaps due to of the attenuation of shivering during immersion with a thermal swimsuit. A thermal swimsuit can increase total insulation and reduce heat loss from the skin. Therefore, subjects with thermal swimsuits can maintain higher body temperatures than with a normal swimsuit and reduce shivering thermo-genesis.     

Physiological and psychological thermal response to local cooling of human body

1. 1. In order to investigate the thermoregulatory responses to the non-uniform thermal environment of the human body, the effects of cooling 10 different body regions were compared by circulating cool water to the neck, breast, back, loin, upper-arms, lower-arms, hands, thighs, legs and feet, respectively. Tympanic temperature, regional (11 sites) and mean skin temperature, and the thermal sensations were measured during experiment in which 30 min local coolings were applied on 5 female students in a climatic chamber controlled at 30°C and 50% r.h.

2. 2. The skin temperature beneath the cooling pad decreased in the order of arms, legs, hands and feet, and trunk.

3. 3. The temperature drop was significantly correlated with the thermal sensation of the region itself.

4. 4. On the other hand, the tympanic temperature increased once by any local cooling. The increase of it was correlated with the change of the general thermal sensation.

5. 5. Results of principal component analysis of skin temperature showed that the peripheral cooling affected the skin temperature in the limited peripheral regions, while the effects of cooling of the breast and the back extended to both the central and peripheral.

Distortion of calculated whole-body hematocrit during lower-body immersion in water

We found a difference between the venous hematocrits of immersed and nonimmersed arms during immersion of the lower body in cold water but not during a comparable exposure to warm water. Fourteen healthy men were exposed to three different experimental conditions: arm immersion, body immersion, and control. The men always sat upright while both upper extremities hung vertically at their sides. During arm immersion, one forearm was completely immersed for 30 min in either cold water (28 degrees C, n = 7) or warm water (38 degrees C, n = 7). This cold-warm water protocol was repeated on separate days for exposure to the remaining conditions of body immersion (immersion of 1 forearm and all tissues below the xiphoid process) and control (no immersion). Blood samples were simultaneously drawn from cannulated veins in both antecubital fossae. Hematocrit difference (Hct diff) was measured by subtracting the nonimmersed forearm's hematocrit (Hct dry) from the immersed forearm's hematocrit (Hct wet). Hct diff was approximately zero when the men were exposed to the control condition and body immersion in warm water. In the remaining conditions, Hct wet dropped below Hct dry (P less than 0.01, 3-way analysis of variance). The decrements of Hct diff showed there were differences between venous hematocrits in immersed and nonimmersed regions of the body, indicating that changes of the whole-body hematocrit cannot be calculated from a large-vessel hematocrit soon after immersing the lower body in cold water.     

Insulative power of body fat on deep muscle temperatures and isometric endurance.

Four male subjects were examined to assess the relationship of body fat content to deep muscle temperature and the endurance of a fatiguing isometric handgrip contraction at a tension set at 40% MVC. Muscle temperature was altered by the immersion of the forearm in water at temperatures varying from 7.5 to 40 degrees C. In all subjects, there was a water bath temperature above and below which isometric endurance decreased markedly; the difference among individuals was solely accounted for by the individual's body fat content. Thus, subjects with higher body fat content required lower bath temperatures to cool the forearm musculature to its optimum temperature, which we found to always be approximately 27 degrees C measured 2 cm perpendicularly to the skin in the belly of the brachioradialis muscle. Further, in one subject, we found that a reduction in this subject's body fat content resulted in a corresponding increase in the water bath temperature necessary to cool his muscles to their optimum isometric performance. The data demonstrate the striking insulative power of the thin layer of fat around the forearm in man in protecting shell tissues from cold exposure.     

Core threshold temperatures for sweating

To detect shifts in the threshold core temperature (Tc) for sweating caused by particular nonthermal stresses, it is necessary to stabilize or standardize all other environmental and physiological variables which cause such shifts. It is, however, difficult to cause progressive changes in Tc without also causing changes in skin temperature (Tsk). This study compares the technique of body warming by immersion in water at 40 degrees C, and subsequent body cooling in water at 28 degrees C, to determine the core threshold for sweating, with one by which Tc was raised by cycling exercise in air at 20 degrees C, and then lowered by immersion in water at 28 degrees C. The first of these procedures involved considerable shifts in Tsk upon immersion in water at 40 degrees C, and again upon transfer to water at 28 degrees C; the second procedure caused only small changes in Tsk. The onset of sweating at a lower esophageal temperature (Tes) during immersion in water at 40 degrees C (36.9 +/- 0.1 degrees C) than during exercise (37.4 +/- 0.3 degree C) is attributed to the high Tsk since Tes was then unchanged. Likewise, the rapid decline in the sweat rate during immersion at 28 degrees C had the same time course to extinction after the pretreatments. This related more to the Tsk, which was common, than to the levels or rates of change of Tes, which both differed between techniques. Tes fell most rapidly, and thus sweating was extinguished at a lower Tes, following 40 degrees C immersion than following exercise.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

A new mathematical model to simulate AVA cold-induced vasodilation reaction to local cooling

The purpose of this work was to integrate a new mathematical model with a bioheat model, based on physiology and first principles, to predict thermoregulatory arterio-venous anastomoses (AVA) and cold-induced vasodilation (CIVD) reaction to local cooling. The transient energy balance equations of body segments constrained by thermoregulatory controls were solved numerically to predict segmental core and skin temperatures, and arterial blood flow for given metabolic rate and environmental conditions. Two similar AVA–CIVD mechanisms were incorporated. The first was activated during drop in local skin temperature (<32 °C). The second mechanism was activated at a minimum finger skin temperature, T _{CIVD, min}, where the AVA flow is dilated and constricted once the skin temperature reached a maximum value. The value of T _CIVD,min was determined empirically from values reported in literature for hand immersions in cold fluid. When compared with published data, the model predicted accurately the onset time of CIVD at 25 min and T _CIVD,min at 10 °C for hand exposure to still air at 0 °C. Good agreement was also obtained between predicted finger skin temperature and experimentally published values for repeated immersion in cold water at environmental conditions of 30, 25, and 20 °C. The CIVD thermal response was found related to core body temperature, finger skin temperature, and initial finger sensible heat loss rate upon exposure to cold fluid. The model captured central and local stimulations of the CIVD and accommodated observed variability reported in literature of onset time of CIVD reaction and T _CIVD,min.     

Thermoregulation during cold water immersion is unimpaired by low muscle glycogen levels

This investigation studied the importance of muscle glycogen levels for body temperature regulation during cold stress. Physiological responses of eight euglycemic males were measured while they rested in cold (18 degrees C, stirred) water on two separate occasions. The trials followed a 3-day program of diet and exercise manipulation designed to produce either high (HMG) or low (LMG) preimmersion glycogen levels in the muscles of the legs, arms, and upper torso. Preimmersion vastus lateralis muscle glycogen concentrations were lower during the LMG trial (144 +/- 14 mmol glucose/kg dry tissue) than the HMG trial (543 +/- 53 mmol glucose/kg dry tissue). There were no significant differences between the two trials in shivering as reflected by aerobic metabolic rate or in the amount of body cooling as reflected by changes in rectal temperature during the immersions. Postimmersion muscle glycogen levels remained unchanged from preimmersion levels in both trials. Small but significant increases in plasma glucose and lactate concentration occurred during both immersions. Plasma glycerol increased during immersion in the LMG trial but not in the HMG trial. Plasma free fatty acid concentration increased during both immersion trials, but the change was apparent sooner in the LMG immersion. It was concluded that thermoregulatory responses of moderately lean and fatter individuals exposed to cold stress were not impaired by a substantial reduction in the muscle glycogen levels of several major skeletal muscle groups. Furthermore, the data suggest that, depending on the intensity of shivering, other metabolic substrates are available to enable muscle glycogen to be spared.