Weight at height, weight in the mountains

In the mountains do we weigh less than at sea level? The answer is affirmative, even if the reduction is all in all insignificant (we talk about a few grams).

In fact, the force of gravity that draws the body towards the center of the Earth varies with latitude (at the poles we weigh less than at the equator), but also with altitude, since in both cases the distance from the center of the Land. It is also necessary to consider the density of the air, which significantly decreases in height along with the pressure exerted on the body. Although this feature does not directly affect the weight, the "buoyancy" of the body decreases, which in turn affects the weighing process (each body immersed in a fluid receives a vertical thrust from the bottom upwards, equal in intensity to the weight of the volume of the displaced fluid, which in this case decreases). Despite this, athletic performance can increase due to the reduced density of the air, which creates less friction for the body to move forward (cycling and speed sports); on the other hand, in the disciplines where the friction of the air is less important, the performance tends to decrease due to the drop in the partial pressure of oxygen, hence of the VO2max.