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Never mind the old adage that weight gain is due to gluttony and inactivity.

New research suggests that piling on the pounds be more to do with body temperature, the Daily Mail reports.

Italian scientists claim not being able to create 'sufficient core body heat' could lead to weight gain of up to 4.5lb (2kg) a year.
Rather than burning up energy to help keep a healthy weight, this low body temperature means some people are becoming obese.

Core body temperature is normally 37°C, no matter what the temperature of the surroundings or the activity level of the individual.

And the hypothalamus is the temperature-regulating centre of the brain. It contains receptors which are sensitive to the temperature of the blood flowing through it.

Temperature sensitive receptors in the skin also feed back information to the hypothalamus about the temperature of the skin surface.

However the new study suggests some of us have a 'biological inability to create sufficient core body heat'.  

Specifically, the study found that obesity is associated with a significant reduction of body core temperature during daytime hours.

This reduced ability to spend energy as heat - compared to slim people - could result in long term weight gain, says Francesco Portaluppi, editor of the journal which published the research.

Writing in the Chronobiology International, he said this weight gain could be as much as 4.5lb (2kg), depending on a person's lifestyle.

In the study, the researchers looked at the core body temperature of obese people, compared to slim, healthy people.

Obese people were much more likely to have a reduced temperature, the researchers found.

And they say this 'biological handicap' can actually predispose some people to becoming obese.

'Since body core temperature represents a marker of energy expenditure, results from this study suggest that a diurnal [daily present] thermogenic handicap can play a crucial role in favoring weight gain in obese subjects,' said article co-author Dr Pietro Cortelli, of the University of Bologna.

He believes the findings could pave the way for new treatments for obesity.