High-Altitude Living Linked to Lower Obesity Risk

Speedy Summary

• A study of over 4 million children across Colombia suggests that living at high altitudes might reduce the risk of childhood obesity.
• Data was sourced from the colombian Institute of Family Welfare, analyzing children up to 5 years old across 1123 municipalities.
• Obesity prevalence:

– Up to 1000 metres: ~80 per 10,000 children.
– between 2001 and 3000 metres: ~40 per 10,000 children (lowest rate).
– Above 3000 metres: ~86 per 10,000 children (data considered possibly inconclusive due to sample size).

• Researchers suggest faster metabolic rates at higher altitudes may contribute to this effect due to lower oxygen levels and hormonal changes like increased satiety hormone leptin and reduced hunger hormone ghrelin.
• The findings are observational and not definitive proof; some confounding factors such as poverty where adjusted for but cannot account for every variable.