(HealthDayNews) -- White glove treatment is supposed to mean the very best care and gentle handling. But if you really want to be treated well, you might ask for rubber gloves, or even take the gloves off.
The School of Health and Sport Sciences at the University of Osaka, Japan, measured the amount of force people use to do different tasks while wearing cotton gloves, rubber gloves, and no gloves at all.
As reported in the journal Ergonomics, the researchers found that the thicker the glove, the more force you use to pick up an object. People picking up a wine glass while wearing cotton gloves might apply two or three times more pressure than people wearing thin rubber gloves. And people wearing rubber gloves use more pressure than those without gloves.
The reason for all of this is that gloves cut down on feeling in the fingers. People who have gloves on grip more tightly, so they can be sure they have a firm grip.
This only applies to slippery surfaces, like delicate dishes or crystal wine glasses, the research found. When people picked up something rough, such as sandpaper, they used the same amount of force with all types of glove.
