Do women get cold more easily than men?

There's a common belief that women generally feel colder than men, but is that really backed by Science?

Actually, the evidence is mixed, in part because few studies addressing this question have been conducted in a carefully controlled manner. That said, the data gathered to date suggest that people's perception of and ability to regulate body temperature rests not on their sex, but rather on their physical traits — in particular, their body fat and surface area. 

A lot of past research does seem to support the idea that women often feel colder than men. This has included survey-based studies that probed people's preferred thermostat temperatures in office settings. 

Research also suggests that, on average, women have slightly higher core temperatures than men, but their hands, feet and ears tend to be colder. This may be related to women's two main sex hormones: estrogen and progesterone. Estrogen dilates blood vessels in the extremities, allowing heat to escape; meanwhile, progesterone can constrict blood vessels in the skin, boosting core temperature but limiting blood flow to the extremities. 

Related: Has the average human body temperature always been the same?

This explanation hints at why women might feel colder than men — but again, there's likely more to the story. 

Several recent, well-designed studies have found that a person's body temperature regulation depends less on their sex and more on their physical traits. For example, in a small study published in the journal PNAS, scientists at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) found evidence that women and men perceive temperatures in a similar manner and don't show any major, sex-based bodily differences in how they respond to cold.