Stanford University research shows declining human body temperature

body temperature Stanford University public health medical standards Carl Wunderlich

Research from Stanford University indicates that average human body temperature has been steadily declining over the last 150 to 200 years. While 37 degrees Celsius was long established as the medical standard based on 19th-century studies by German physician Carl Wunderlich, modern data suggests a lower norm.

An analysis of nearly 190,000 Americans between 1862 and 2017 revealed that the average temperature for men has dropped by approximately 0.59 degrees Celsius compared to the 19th century. Researchers suggest the new normal for adults may be closer to 36.4 degrees Celsius. For women, the decline is estimated at around 0.32 degrees Celsius.

Scientists attribute this cooling trend to improvements in public health and living conditions. Reduced rates of chronic infections, such as tuberculosis, mean the human immune system no longer needs to generate as much heat to fight off diseases, leading to a lower baseline body temperature.

Entities

Carl Wunderlich · Julie Parsonnet · Stanford University

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

[● 4 SOURCES] Average human body temperature has declined over the last 200 years. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] Women show a temperature decline of 0.32 degrees Celsius compared to the late 19th century. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] Carl Wunderlich established the 37 degree Celsius standard in the 1860s. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] The typical oral temperature of healthy adults is approximately 36.6 degrees Celsius. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] Body temperature has decreased by approximately 0.03 degrees Celsius per birth decade. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] Improved general public health is a factor in the declining body temperature. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] Men born in the 1990s have temperatures 0.59 degrees Celsius lower than men from the early 1800s. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de
[● 4 SOURCES] The Stanford University analysis evaluated more than six million datasets. www.kreiszeitung.de · www.mannheim24.de · www.merkur.de · www.op-online.de