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SALT LAKE CITY -- What if you could jump start your diet with a trip to a ski resort? A new study suggests there could be some truth to that method.
The German study found overweight men dropped pounds easily after just a short time spent on Germany's tallest peak.
The men stayed at a research station on the mountain for a week and were able to keep the weight off four weeks after they returned to their usual, lower altitude.
It begs the question -- is that why Utahns have one of the lower obesity rates in the country? Dr. Wayne Askew, chair of the Division of Nutrition at the University of Utah, says, probably not.
"I think it's probably access to a good lifestyle," he says, elaborating by talking about the outdoor recreation opportunities available throughout the state.
But he says there is something to the German study. He once studied what happens to soldiers stationed in Hawaii at Mauna Loa and found they struggled to keep weight on at that altitude.
Askew believes altitude does have at least a temporary effect on your body, an effect to which you eventually adjust.
First, most people experience a form of altitude sickness when they travel to heights above 10,000 feet in a short space of time. The symptoms can include headache and nausea, but most important for weight loss, a lack of appetite.
"You're just not hungry," explains Askew.
Second, your metabolism actually speeds up. "Your resting metabolic rate, the rate at which you're burning calories, increases at altitude anywhere from 10 to 20 percent, and that lasts for, oh, about three weeks at altitude," Askew says, "and then comes back down."
Part of the weight loss is from water loss because the higher up you are, the dryer the air is, and your lungs compensate by hydrating the air inside your body from within. It's important, Askew says, to make sure you drink enough fluids at altitude and to know some of that loss will be regained.
There are some caveats that go along with those observations. First, of course, that the effect is temporary, so unless you actually increase your activity level and continue to eat less when you return to a lower altitude, you've changed nothing.
Second, Askew points out more is not better and that not everyone can tolerate a quick trip to a higher place. In other words, if 10,000 feet is great, 20,000 feet is not necessarily an even better idea and it could be a big shock to your system. Similarly, if you're someone with an underlying health condition like heart disease, even the trip to 10,000 feet could put a strain on you that a healthier person wouldn't experience.
E-mail: bbruce@ksl.com
