Effects of hiking at altitude on body composition and insulin sensitivity in recovering drug addicts.
(2004) Preventive Medicine — Vol. 39, n° 4, p. 681-688 (2004)
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- In the current study individuals with a history of drug abuse (users of heroin, cocaine, or amphetamine) displayed a 13-100% increase in body weight (self-reported) and exhibited a trend toward insulin resistance. Therefore, we investigated the effects of long-term altitude hiking on insulin sensitivity in this special population. Nine males recovering from drug addiction (ex-addicts) (age 28.7 +/- 1.3 years) and 17 control subjects (age 29 +/- 1.1 years) voluntarily participated in a 25-day hiking activity (altitude 2200-3800 M). On the 25th day of hiking, oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), insulin response, lean body mass, fat mass, and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) were measured in all subjects. After the altitude expedition, insulin levels during the OGTT in ex-addicts were similar to controls, suggesting that insulin sensitivity in this special population was normalized by long-term altitude activity. Along with improvements in insulin sensitivity, a significant reduction in WHR, but small increase in lean body mass, was observed. Twenty-five days of altitude activity significantly reverses hyperinsulinemia in the ex-addicts and this improvement appears to be partially associated with the reduction in central fatness.
Citations
Lee, W.-C., Chen, J.-J., Hunt, D. D., Hou, C.-W., Lai, Y.-C., Lin, F.-C., Chen, C.-Y., Lin, C.-H., Liao, Y.-H., & Kuo, C.-H. (2004). Effects of hiking at altitude on body composition and insulin sensitivity in recovering drug addicts. Preventive Medicine, 39(4), 681-688. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2004.02.035 (Original work published 2004)