ELI5- how does weight impact sweat?

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What about being overweight causes the sweat glands to over produce?

Edit- thank you for the answers! Another question- what causes people to sweat more or less genetics wise? Like people who have hyperhidrosis so their weight isn’t really as relevant (thin people with hyperhidrosis still sweat excessively). So, what causes the overproduction in this case?

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9 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A few reasons.

1) the main one. Ratio of surface area to volume. You are mostly water, so think of yourself as a water bag with some stuff floating around. You generate heat internally. Because outside is typically less than 98 degrees F, you lose heat all the time. Your volume contains lots of cells that generate heat, and they do it in overdrive when you exercise. As you get bigger, you need more cooling because of this ratio change.

2) fat insulates you.

3) you consume a lot more energy moving a heavier object around. So a fat person burns more calories walking at the same pace as a skinny person.

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