'Fatties More Prone To Altitude Sickness'

Obese people, or - flying in the face of political correctness - 'bloaters' may be at a higher risk of altitude sickness according to a new study published in the August 19th issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Apparently obesity has long been suspected as a risk factor in developing AMS (Acute Mountain Sickness) but this is the first study to have looked at the situation under controlled conditions using a decompression chamber to simulate a rapid ascent to 12,000 feet.

Obese guinea pigs in the study were more likely to develop AMS symptoms and researchers found that oxygen saturation levels were 'significantly lower' in obese subjects than the non-obese particularly at night.

Bear in mind though that the study was on a relatively small scale, so might be meaningless after all... For more details see this article in the Yahoo health section.