Does High Altitude Exposure Increase Energy Expenditure?

There have been many claims that exposure to high altitude increases energy expenditure. While overall this is likely the case, I was interested in seeing if there was information specifically addressing 1) Is there an increase in  basal metabolic rate (BMR) alone or 2) Is there also an increase in energy expenditure during exercise and 3) Are any increases actually due to the increased hypoxia, or is it something else?

I looked up on PubMed and found a 2006 review paper that investigated weight loss at altitude. Unfortunately the abstract says little - I have the actual article but I am not "allowed" to provide it (that whole copyright thing) - you can contact me for more detail if interested.

The paper in general shows that there hasn't been a whole lot of controlled studies to answer these questions, but do have some tidbits

1) One study (Nair 1971) had 2 groups with group A exposed to hypoxia alone for 3 weeks then cold & hypoxia. Group B had the reverse order. Under hypoxia alone, group A actually had a decrease in BMR after 3 weeks. After inclusion of cold temperatures, BMR increased. In group B, exposure to both hypoxia and cold increased BMR after 3 weeks. After taking away the cold, BMR stayed elevated.

The results are definitive but point to cold temperatures being the significant factor in increased BMR at altitude. Another study showed increased BMR after exposure at 4300 m for 21 days, but did not distinguish exactly what was causing the increased BMR. The review article states there is no conclusive evidence and more research is needed to see if hypoxia affects BMR.

So that address #1 and #3 (somewhat), what about #2? Well there seems to be even less controlled work done on this. The article states (and what I have believed) that work requires the same amount of oxygen at high altitudes as at sea level. However, the maximal work output (VO2max) is reduced and thus all levels of exertion are more tiring. But there doesn't seem to be any studies really showing comparative energy expenditure at altitude versus sea level, at least according to this review.

This goes back to the idea of eating high carbohydrate diet at altitude. You'll have an increased BMR (at least due to cold temperature exposure) but more importantly you'll burn relatively more glycogen at a given workload than you would at sea level. This goes back to how our aerobic energy pathways utilize fats and carbohydrates depending on intensity - the more intense, the more glycogen (carb) is used instead of fatty acids.

Ascending from 13,000 ft to 14,000 ft may not be more work than 1,000 ft to 2,000 ft, but the lack of oxygen forces the body to get more energy out of that oxygen, and therefore uses glycogen reserves more (both aerobically and anaerobically) than fat.

The article goes on to talk much about appetite suppression as being a larger factor in overall weightless at altitude.

So overall, estimation of caloric expenditure of a hike may not be affected by altitude - but a person's basal metabolic rate will likely increase causing an overall increase in expenditure. Even at the same caloric expenditure, glycogen reserves are used more and therefore a high carb diet is beneficial.

There may be pertinent research that this review article didn't address, so if you find some it would be great if you let us know.

How to Ford a River

Props to the Hike Guy for linking to this trails.com post on steps & tips for properly crossing rivers of different levels.

Dehydration Good at High Altitudes?

The conventional wisdom says as you ascend in altitude, you get more dehydrated, and you should drink more water / electrolytes to prevent mountain sickness.

Peter Hackett, a well known researcher in the field of altitude sickness, suggests in this interview that you actually want to be dehydrated at altitude.

  There's evidence that the people who do best at altitude are dehydrated. That is the body resets the serum of molality level which has to do with the water balance. And the body, for some reason, prefers to be dry at high altitude. My own thinking is that this is good for the body because it keeps the brain a little bit drier and softer. So that if it does start to accumulate a little water or get a little swelling, it can be tolerated better.

Wow. Conventional wisdom that hikers / climbers digest elsewhere may need to be altered. I suppose it's time to read up more on this issue. Maybe I've been drinking too much water in the Sierra!

Estimating Energy Cost while Hiking

It's something many people are interested in knowing. How many calories are you really burning while hiking?

In reality, highly accurate estimations are specific to the individual, but there are some basic properties to start with. So, we'll start laying at least a foundation now.

A paper from the Journal of Applied Physiology has looked at how energy expenditure is affected by the slope (grade) while walking (and running). You can read the full study with the link provided. Basically, they put people on a treadmill at different gradients and measure how much oxygen they are consuming. From that, they find an equation relating the relative work performed at a given grade relative to the work performed while walking on flat ground.

Concept: Oxygen Consumed ~ Work ~ Calories Burned

Does Hiking Pole Weight Matter?

People are always looking for the newest, most advanced technology in any area of interest. Hiking, of course, is included. And people love to get the lightest poles available (as long as they don't break!). But does weight matter?

One study compared hiking poles of three different weights. and found that muscle activity (electromyography) of the biceps brachii and anterior deltoid increased with increasing pole weight. The anterior deltoid assists in flexion of the shoulder (brining your upper arm from your side to in front of you horizontally) and also is needed to resist gravity and the weight of your arm. With a hiking pole with increasing weight, this muscle should increase in activation. The biceps brachii (or just your biceps) work to flex your elbow, and again will be increasingly activated as more load is placed on the hand as your arm is out in front of you.

Lightweight Leki Poles are nice, but is it worth it?

Food / Fluid Intake & Improving Hiking Performance

This article gives a nice overview of some of the things people can do to improve endurance performance right away. I am not promoting Hammer Nutrition - I'm not even sure I've ever had anything made by them - but the article is good.

When preparing for a long, strenuous trek, following such tips about hydration and proper food consumption will undoubtedly make your effort easier and make you feel better doing it.

Vertical Ascent Rate

While we just looked at an example of how walking speed changes with change in trail steepness, it is also interesting to look at how vertical ascent rate (VAR) changes with trail steepness.


Of course, I think most people would generally hypothesize that VAR increases as the grade increases, since a larger % of energy will be spent on vertical movement. I would also hypothesize that above some grade (perhaps 60-70%), VAR would begin to decrease - I am thinking about loss of friction, change in terrain, and change in biomechanical efficiency - but that is simply conjecture at this point.


We will look at only one exemplar hike (Big Iron again) which is suitable because of the breadth of gradients encountered and I was attempting to hike at a constant pace. Below is a plot of VAR vs grade % (this time I multiplied by 100% so it makes more sense, like 15% grade on a treadmill).