A Comparison of Thermophysiological Responses to Egyptian Folk Costume, “Jalabia” and T-Shirt in Sedentary and Step-Exercising Women at Warm and Radiated Environments

Abstract

We compared human thermoregulatory responses to two types of garments, i.e., Egyptian folk costume, “Jalabia” (F) and T-shirt (T) at an ambient temperature of 33 °C and a relative humidity of 50 % with a radiant artificial lamp of 400 W. Our major findings are summarized as follows : 1) Mean skin temperature and back clothing surface temperature tended to be higher in F, especially during the latter half of experimental period. 2) There were no consistent differences in the local sweat rate between F and T. 3) The level of clothing humidity measured at back site was higher in T than in F if we compare it for the same sweat rate. 4) Clothing humidity measured at the chest decreased clearly in F during step-exercise. 5) Positive heat storage was significantly smaller in F than in T. These phenomena are discussed in terms of thermal physiology and clothing sciences.