More male consumers this winter are buying clothes and food that help them stay warm. While women in general are considered more vulnerable to cold weather, many men have become less tolerant, pundits say, leading to increased sales of such items as "haramaki," or belly warmers, and food products that use ginger and chili pepper.

The pundits say males have apparently become more sensitive to cold temperatures following an unusually sweltering summer. Tobu Department Store Co. said that its flagship store in Tokyo's Ikebukuro district reports higher than expected sales of haramaki in the men's underwear section.

Sales since September have tripled compared with the same period last year. Males in their late teens through their 70s are buying them at prices ranging from around ¥1,050 to ¥6,300, the company said. It didn't hurt that Tobu assembled a line of colorful belly warmers this season.

In August, underwear maker Triumph International (Japan) Ltd. launched a new type of men's underpants under its sloggi men brand that are designed to shield the abdomen and the lower back from the cold. The product, priced at ¥1,890, has sold out online. "More men have become sensitive to cold in recent years due in part to mental stress," said Dr. Kumiko Nagumo, who runs a clinic in central Tokyo.

This year's scorching summer heat made them even more prone to become cold-sensitive, she said. A wide difference in temperatures outside and in air-conditioned rooms during the summer has adversely affected people's autonomic nerves as well as stomachs and intestines, amplifying the perceived severity of cold temperatures in autumn and winter, according to Nagumo. Male consumers are also increasingly buying food that helps raise the body temperature.

Among popular products is Ajinomoto Co.'s Capsiate Natura supplement containing red pepper components. A bottle of 60 tablets costs ¥5,980. Sales since autumn have doubled from a year ago due to increased demand from men, according to the company. Nagatanien Co., which has marketed a series of ginger-flavored food and drinks since 2007, says nearly half of this year's buyers are men. The company has been taken by surprise because it targeted the product line at women. 
(The Japan Times)