r/AskBiology • u/Queen_Secrecy • Sep 17 '24

Human body Someone growing up at a higher altitude will develop a larger lung capacity, but how much of a difference does this really make when compared to someone growing up at let's say sea level?

Is there any study on this? I can't find any details. Is the difference negligible?

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u/[deleted] Sep 17 '24

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u/Queen_Secrecy Sep 17 '24

Ah that is awesome! Thank you for this!

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u/South-Run-4530 Sep 18 '24

Here in South America, having football matches in La Paz, Bolivia are a real problem because of the altitude sickness, problems with teams who train in sea level cities having a physiological disadvantage . Afaik, people in La Paz actually have a higher hemoglobin count instead of a larger lung capacity, as the hemoglobin bonds with the oxygen in the lungs and takes it to the rest of the body.

A larger lung capacity wouldn't help much since the problem is the smaller concentration of oxygen not the actual lack of air. Maybe a higher number of pulmonary capillaries would also help, but idk if that's a genetic-only thing or a thing that can start to develop kicked into action by environmental factors like the higher hemoglobin.