To Get Thinner, Move To A Higher Altitude, Maybe

It may be a little harder to breathe, but think how much better you’d look. Research conducted at the University of Navarra in Spain recently studied the health of 9,300 Spanish university graduates who were not overweight or obese at the start of the study. HealthDay reports that the subjects were divided into three groups based on their homes’ altitude: below 407 feet (low); 407 to 1496 feet (medium); and above 1496 feet (high). Ready? The envelope please…. After 8.5 years, the researchers found that, after accounting for other factors, such as diet and physical activity, study participants who lived at high a those who lived at high altitudes were 13 percent less likely to become overweight or obese than those who lived at low altitudes. HealthDay points out that while the study did find an association between altitude and weight, it wasn’t designed to show that living at a certain altitude can actually cause changes in weight.