Climate and calories

People on chronic diets may have a new scapegoat to blame for their inability to lose weight. According to a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers claim that a person's native climate might influence how their body burns calories. According to the study by Douglas C. Wallace, professor of biological sciences and molecular medicine from the University of California at Irvine, and colleagues, people whose ancestors come from cold regions have gene adaptations that may allow their bodies to produce more heat while burning calories. Those from warmer climates use calories more efficiently and produce small amounts of excess heat.

Wallace says …