Is 98.6°F outdated? Woman argues 'normal' body temperature should be lower — and medical experts agree

After studying thousands of patients, scientists reached a consensus that the average body temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; however, one woman claimed this belief might be outdated. The Texas-based content creator, who describes herself as “Nerdy GenX,” shed light on how this widely accepted bodily index for measuring our well-being has dropped to 97.9 degrees over time. Jenn—who goes by @jennjenbean—racked up over 400,000 views and sparked an important discussion with her video, sharing some eye-opening facts about body temperature trends. The woman, who seemed to be experiencing a fever, also claimed to have measured her body temperature to prove her point.

“Did you know that the idea of 98.6°F being the normal temperature for an average human came from a study conducted in 1860 using 25,000 people?” remarked the content creator, snuggled up in bed. Jenn went on to say that after studying thousands of varying temperatures over a considerable period, the doctors came to a conclusion. Notably, she was referring to a mid-19th century study by a German physician, as pointed out by USA Today. Following that, Dr. Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich from Leipzig closely observed the varying body temperatures among men, women, and children. Based on the experts' findings, a scientific baseline was established to help people determine whether something unusual was occurring inside their bodies.

“But recent studies have revealed that our average temperature, based on hundreds of thousands of people being studied, is actually closer to 97.9°F,” Jenn added. A recent study published in the JAMA Internal Medicine journal supports Jenn's stance. Jenn further stated that the researchers were uncertain why the average body temperature had dropped almost 0.7 degrees. She explained, “They don't know if it's because we have an improved healthcare system, or if we have less inflammation, or if we're not working as hard as we used to. It could also be that our bodies aren't warming up as much, or perhaps we're just healthier overall.”

“We are not the same people we were in the middle of the 19th century,” USA Today quoted an author of a recent study. Similarly, Jenn noted that the average temperature in most people seemed to be going down to around 97.9°F. However, what still confused her was that 100 degrees was considered the ideal temperature for measuring someone's fever. “Should we adjust our idealization of when a fever actually happens? I have a normal body temperature of 97.6°F, but I feel horrible, and my temperature is only 99.1°F,” the content creator added.

Jenn's concerns were reflected in research conducted by Stanford University, School of Medicine, United States. The research's authors  Protsiv, Ley, Lankester, Hastie, and Parsonnet examined more than 27 modern studies about body temperature and concluded that the mean body temperature was lower than 98.6° F. Another study analyzed  250,000 temperature measurements from 25,000 British patients and found the average to be 97.9° F, reported Yale Medicine.

Jenn also raised her concerns over the differences and the inconsistency in how temperatures were classified. “My question is, if a 1.4-degree difference in temperature from 98.6°F is considered a fever, how is it that 97.9°F, with a 1.4-degree difference, is not considered a temperature?” she asked, adding, “What is so magical about that 100-degree mark?” The content creator's intriguing take on such a serious subject, which affects most people's everyday lives, managed to draw widespread attention on social media.

Among the variety of reactions, @amandagoins10 reaffirmed, “My normal is 97.6°F, if I get to 99°F I definitely feel sick; anything over 100 and I can't get out of bed.” “I’m usually 99.4°F…they always tell me I have a low-grade fever,” @88wc43123 shared.

Heidi Zapata, MD, PhD, a Yale Medicine infectious disease specialist, noted that the conditions of the time when the 'normal' body temperature was decided are completely different from what it is today. “That original study in the 1860s was done before antibiotics were available. Therefore, many people had infections that couldn’t be treated, which would have affected temperatures if they were chronically sick,” says Zapata.

You can follow Jenn (@jennjenbean) on TikTok for more lifestyle content.