Anthropometric changes associated with high altitude acclimatization in females.

Abstract

AbstractThe anthropometric effects of prolonged high altitude exposure were studied in eight college women who lived on the summit of Pikes Peak (14,100 ft.) for 2.5 months. Acclimatization to altitude was associated with a decrease of skin‐fold thickness and a reduction in limb circumference, but little change in body weight. It was concluded that these changes reflected a loss of subcutaneous fat during the period of altitude exposure. Altitude exposure did not produce any alterations in trunk circumference at the umbilicus or buttocks, but it did cause an increase in the inspiratory chest circumference at the axillary level and a reduction in expiratory chest circumference at the subscapular level.