I have been conducting extensive research over the last few years on the history of nudity in social situations, and I am looking to expand my research base now I have come across a few other interesting facts.
I have also given @CareyGregory’s rhetorical question some thought.
What does the body need to do to remain at its normal temperature?
Additionally to another question I asked on parasite reduction through being naked, I am asking...
Will going nude improve homeostasis?
Example
Professor Peter Wheeler of Liverpool John Moore’s University says that the average human can lose heat at a rate in excess of 1 kilowatt, which is the amount of heat put out by a 1 bar electric fire. If you have body hair, you can still lose heat by sweating, but the rate of heat loss will be reduced because the air flow across the body would be severely reduced which in turn would reduce the rate at which the sweat is going to evaporate. Sweating into a fur coat would have been no use to our ancestors. (Wheeler, 1994) (Horizon: What's The Problem With Nudity, 2008)
Does wearing clothing hamper the body’s ability to lose excess heat more than body hair? What studies have been done to corroborate this?
References
Horizon: What's The Problem With Nudity (2008). [TV] Directed by Paul King. UK:BBC.BBC iPlayer: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00j0hnm
Wheeler, P. E. (1994). The thermoregulatory advantages of hominid bipedalism in open equatorial environments: the contribution of increased convective heat loss and cutaneous evaporative cooling. Journal of Human Evolution 21(2): pp. 107-115.
DOI: 10.1016/0047-2484(91)90002-D
Does this indicate one physical benefit to nudity (quicker heat loss for body temperature regulation).
