Why Your Office Thermostat May Be Sexist

It's funny how its seems like you're the one who needs to wear a sweater and a scarf to work, even though its summer. Then you realize that a number of others are bundled up in the workplace and most of those fighting the shakes and the shivers are women.

If that's what it's like where you work, I've got the guy at whom you can point the finger of blame. A guy from Europe. From the 1960s. Dr. Povl Oli Fanger.

He's the researcher who developed the "scientific formula" for the optimal temperature in an office setting. Millions of offices.

The problem, as you can see and feel, is obvious. The formula is 50 years old. And further… it's based on men. Men, who at the time, usually came to work in a heavy duty three piece suit, and were "discovered" to be the most comfortable metabolically at 70 degrees. The scientific model male used, by the way, was 40 years old, and weighed 154 pounds.

Warm then. Freezing now. Especially if you're not a guy in a three piece suit who is 40 and weighs 154 pounds.

There are obviously a lot of problems with whole issue.

Much of it is with the science of metabolism. Such as the fact that a woman is metabolically more sensitive to colder temperatures. That's because of a combination of chemicals, hormones, and less muscle mass.

There's more, but feeling is believing. It's cold! You don't need some antiquated formula to tell you that.

But here's some better news: researchers in the Journal Nature Climate Change agree. They say all the old stuff is wrong, and the new is right.

What's new? The optimal workplace temperature for male and female is five degrees higher. 75 degrees.

That's what the thermostat should be set at.

So ditch the sweater. Ditch the scarf. Women of the workplace: take ownership of that temperature dial!

And if a guy tries to stop you, poke him with one of those icicles hanging off of your nose.

Dr. Dave Hnida is CBS4's Medical Editor. He blogs about the latest studies and trends in the health world. Read his latest blog entries, check out his bio or follow him on Twitter @drdavehnida.