Obesity in Tibetans Aged 30–70 Living at Different Altitudes under the North and South Faces of Mt. Everest

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Lhamo Y. Sherpa¹  rib-type="author">Deji23  Hein Stigum¹  Virasakdi Chongsuvivatwong²  Dag S. Thelle⁴ 

[1] Section for Preventive Medicine and Epidemiology, University of Oslo, Frederik Holsts hus, Ulleval terrasse, Kirkeveien 166, 0450 Oslo, Norway; E-Mail:;Epidemiology Unit, Prince of Songkla University, Hat Yai, Songkhla 90110, Thailand; E-Mail:;Tibet University Medical College, No.1 Loubulinka Road, Lhasa, Xizang 850002, China; E-Mail:;Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway; E-Mail:

关键词: obesity;    WHtR;    BMI;    waist circumference;    Tibetans;    Tibet;    Everest;    Nepal;   

DOI  :  10.3390/ijerph7041670

来源: mdpi

【 摘 要 】

Risk factors for chronic diseases in Tibetans may be modified due to hypobaric hypoxia. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of obesity at varying altitudes of 1,200, 2,900 and 3,700 meters above sea-level in Tibet and Nepal; to estimate the effect of altitude on body mass index (BMI), waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Three cross-sectional studies with simple random sampling were performed on 617 men and women. BMI, WC and WHtR decreased with increasing altitude. It is likely that the physical conditions such as low temperatures and low oxygen levels have a direct catabolic effect.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© 2010 by the authors; licensee Molecular Diversity Preservation International, Basel, Switzerland.