Fat people lose weight at high altitudes sans dieting

Tried every plan in the diet book but love handles still giving you nightmares? Well, here's a tip: Move to a mountaintop.

In a study, detailed in the February 4 issue of the journal Obesity, it was found that obese individuals who spent time at a mountain facility at high altitudes lost weight without going on a diet.

What's more, they kept the pounds off for at least four weeks once they returned to normal altitudes, reports Live Science.

Study boffins believe that the weight loss could be attributed to the thin air, which may have decreased participants' appetites and increased their metabolism, meaning they burned more calories sans a workout.

However, researchers say, the findings are very preliminary and were only tested in a small sample of people.

To reach the conclusion, Dr Florian Lippl, of Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich, Germany, and his colleagues enrolled 20 obese male participants, with an average weight of 230 pounds (105 kg).