Women Don't Sweat Less Than Men After All

If your boyfriend gets extra stinky after a workout, it’s not just because of that Y chromosome. What affects how much a person sweats is body size, not gender, according to a new study published in Experimental Physiology.

Scientists from the University of Wollongong in Australia and Mie Prefectural College of Nursing in Japan evaluated 60 individuals (36 male, 24 female) with varying “surface area per kilogram of body mass” (read: size) cycling in identical heat conditions for the same amount of time. The study found that gender could account for no more than 5 percent of the variability in sweat production throughout the group. But across the board, the larger individuals sweat more than small ones.

“Gender has long been thought to influence sweating and skin blood flow during heat stress,” lead author Sean Notley said. “We found that these heat loss responses are, in fact, gender independent during exercise in conditions where the body can successfully regulate its temperature.”

So, contrary to popular belief, not all women sweat less than men, though it is safe to say that many do because many women are smaller than men. If you sweat more than a guy you know, it has nothing to do with how feminine you are. It could just mean you have more surface area from which to sweat.

This also explains why when at the gym, those teeny tiny perky girls are completely free of sweat, while those of average size are dripping buckets. Dry doesn’t mean girlier, just smaller.

Let’s keep in touch! Follow Yahoo Style + Beauty on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.