On average, excessive heat causes 650 deaths in the United States every year. Thirty-nine of those took place on the job in 2016 – double the amount that occurred only two years prior.
Heat may get the headlines, but a study from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine found that cold weather is 20 times as deadly as hot weather. That study corroborates a U.S. study that found cold kills more than double the number of Americans as heat does.
Athletics scholars have studied heat-related illnesses (HRIs) and their impact on athletes of all ages at all levels. Their discoveries can help safety professionals prevent HRIs in the workplace.
If more than a quarter century of America’s Funniest Home Videos has taught us anything, it’s that people fall (a lot) and other people find those falls hilarious.
You don’t have to be sweatin’ to the oldies or your favorite Richard Simmons DVD to generate heat. Actions as unconscious as breathing generate heat as part of the metabolism, the process of breaking down food for energy and rebuilding our bodies.
