A life at high altitude shapes body: study

Living the high life -- growing up, in other words, at extreme altitude -- forces a developing human body to conserve energy, and that can translated into shorter arms, according to a study published yesterday.

Nepalese men and women born and raised at 3,500 metres (11,500 feet) and up are more likely to have curtailed forearms compared to people of similar ancestry from lowland areas, scientists reported in the journal Royal Society Open Science.

Intriguingly, adjoining parts of the anatomy -- the upper arms and hand -- remain the same for both groups.

A similar pattern was uncovered in earlier research among Peruvian children, reinforcing the notion that harsh mountain conditions were somehow responsible.

"It was interesting to see that they both followed the same growth patterns," lead author Stephanie Payne, a biological anthropologist at the University of Cambridge, told AFP.

The findings raise a host of questions, starting with this one: What is it about an high-altitude living that makes the body shape-shift?

"This is most likely an adaptation to improving oxygen uptake," said Payne.