Popular wellness trend is supposed to help with weight loss
By Diana Bruk
Maybe it’s better not to take the plunge.
While the ostensible point of most wellness trends is to promote good physical and mental health — as opposed to purely shedding pounds — weight management is often an added perk.
But a fascinating new study published in the journal Physiology & Behavior warns that the caloric dump of one popular practice might be mostly in your head.
Woman submersed in an ice bath.
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If you’ve ever spent time in freezing water, you’ve probably noticed a significant uptick in your appetite.
Diana Light – stock.adobe.com
Cold plunges and ice baths have made quite the splash in recent years, thanks to their purported boost in mental clarity, blood circulation and metabolism and their reduction in muscle soreness and stress.
And if you’ve ever spent time in freezing water, you’ve probably noticed a significant uptick in your appetite — leading you to naturally believe you’ve really earned that burger.
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Sadly, it seems that might not be the case.
Researchers suspect that the “after-drop” effect — where core body temperature keeps falling after cold exposure, even when you’re out of the water — triggers brain regions linked to temperature and energy, boosting appetite.
Woman eating fried chicken in a restaurant.
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Researchers suspect the “after-drop” effect triggers brain regions linked to temperature and energy, boosting appetite.
littlepigpower – stock.adobe.com
“Ice baths and cold dips have become really popular, with many people hoping they’ll help with weight loss,” David Broom, a professor at UK’s Coventry University Research Center for Physical Activity, Sport and Exercise Sciences, said in a statement.
“But our findings show that while cold water does make your body work harder and burn more energy, it also leads to eating more afterward — possibly undoing the potential weight-loss benefits,” he continued.
“Interestingly, people didn’t say they felt hungrier during or after the cold water — they just ate more.”
Woman eating a chocolate doughnut in a cafe.
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Study participants who spent 30 minutes in cold water ate a whopping 240 extra calories.
Dusan Petkovic – stock.adobe.com
Researchers asked 10 men and five women who were active and healthy to spend 30 minutes in cold water (60 degrees Fahrenheit), hot water (95 degrees) or room temperature water (78 degrees).
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Afterwards — in what sounds like the best controlled trial ever — they were asked to eat a plate of pasta until “comfortably full.”
Of the three groups, the cold water cohort ate a whopping 240 extra calories.
Depending on various factors, spending 30 minutes in a cold plunge — which is, by the way, not really recommended by experts, who advise shooting for no more than 10 minutes due to risk of hypothermia — only burns an estimated 250 to 500 calories, which is why probably why researchers say the overeating might negate the burn.
For what it’s worth, these findings align with what experts say about contrast therapy — the art of repeatedly alternating between hot and cold, like shvitzing in a sauna and then jumping into a cold plunge, as one does in modern bathhouses and traditional Finnish culture.
Dr. Hany Demian, CEO of BioSpine and co-founder of Pain Care Clinics, previously told The Post that contrast therapy burns “a very small amount of calories, but nothing significant.”
He added that the surge in hunger has more to do with “stomach contraction and relaxation, which stimulates the appetite.”
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