Thin Air Keeps Us Thin

They say the air is thin here in Colorado, but that thin air might also be helping you stay thin.

We hear it all the time from visitors, especially those from sea level... how can you breath here? How can you stand to live this high up? But unknown to most of us until now, this thin air also has some connection to our great low obesity rate.

Coloradans take pride in the fact that we have the lowest obesity rate in the country year after year. A lot of the reason behind this is because of our love for exercising and doing things outside along with healthier food habits. But it might also be the altitude helping out.

A new study, just published in the International Journal of Obesity, found that those of us living at the highest altitudes had lower obesity rates than those living at the lowest altitude. This study centered on Colorado and compared our obesity rates with people living at sea level. Researchers found those living at sea level were 4 to 5 times more likely to be obese compared to us up here. Although they aren't exactly sure why this is happening, they think that living at altitude causes us to burn more calories and affects hormones that control our appetite. But they also point out that just living at our high altitudes shouldn't be used as an excuse to not exercise since even though we do have the lowest obesity rate in the country, that rate keeps going up each year.