How High Altitude Changes Your Body's Metabolism
Retrieved on:
Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Burn, Protein, DSM-IV codes, University of California, San Francisco, SAN, UCSF, Oxygen, Movement, Gladstone Institutes, Cell Metabolism, Research, Metabolism, Carbon, Burns, Obesity, Fats, Animal, Cardiovascular disease, Glucose, Hypercholesterolemia, Blood, Dicarboxylic acid, Hypoxia, Mouse, Coronary artery disease, Risk, Atmosphere, Athlete, Behavior, Human, PET, Biochemistry, Diabetes, Temperature, Doctor of Philosophy, Department of Biochemistry, University of Oxford, Observation, Pharmaceutical industry, Medical imaging, Food preservation, Dietary supplement, Arun Midha, William Ewart Gladstone
SAN FRANCISCO, March 7, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Compared to those of us who live at sea level, the 2 million people worldwide who live above 4,500 meters (or 14,764 feet) of elevation—about the height of Mount Rainier, Mount Whitney, and many Colorado and Alaska peaks—have lower rates of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, coronary artery disease, hypercholesterolemia, and obesity.
Key Points:
- The work, published in the journal Cell Metabolism, not only helps explain the metabolic differences of people who live at high altitude, but could also lead to new treatments for metabolic disease.
- "We hope these findings will help us identify metabolic switches that might be beneficial for metabolism even outside of low-oxygen environments."
- In general, these more lasting changes mirror what has been seen in humans who live at high altitude.
- "We already see athletes going to train at altitude to improve their athletic performance; maybe in the future, we'll start recommending that people spend time at high altitude for other health reasons," says Midha.