Altitude Promotes Weight Loss
Living at altitude prevents obesity— according to a study led by Jameson Voss of the U.S. Air Force School of Aerospace Medicine at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Obesity was 41 percent less likely in people stationed at high altitudes above 6,400 feet compared to people stationed below 3,200 feet. Obesity rates decreased with increasing altitudes, which means that altitudes of 9,000 feet (Aspen, Colorado) would be more effective for preventing obesity than 6,400 feet (Squaw Valley, California). Studies conducted at a laboratory on Pikes Peak, Colorado (14,110 feet) by George Brooks from the University of California, Berkeley showed that altitude decreases appetite and slows nutrient absorption in the gut.
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(PLOS ONE, 9(4): e93493, 2014)