If you're often feeling chilly at the workplace, but your coworkers seem to be comfortable, there may be a scientific reason as to why.
A report published online by Nature said that temperature controls set in office buildings are based on a "thermal comfort model" from the 1960s. One of the main variables used in the model are metabolic rates, which the formula based on the "average male."
That average male used in the formula is 40 years old and weighs about 154 pounds. Not necessarily everyone's body description.
"This may cause buildings to be intrinsically non-energy-efficient in providing comfort in females," the report states.
The report went on to say that metabolic rates in women could be overestimated by up to 35% if offices are using this out five-decades old formula.
As part of their research, the investigators studied how young women retain heat, aiming to drive home the point that the formula used should focus on more than just the "average male."