Some of the metabolic changes in expedition members caused by diet and activities performed during a stay at the Czech Antarc-tic base (Short Communication)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of food intake, extreme climatic and other environmental conditions on metabolic parameters in serum in participants of the 9th Czech Antarctic Scientific Expedition, January – February 2015 (8 weeks). The studied parameters included the level of total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, triglycerides, uric acid and type of diet. The energy intake, amount of protein in food during the stay were analysed. The values of the above-specified parame-ters were compared with the answers of respondents to questions about food intake served during the expedition and analysed by the (ANOVA) Hartley F, Cochran C, Barttlet Chi test. A total of 45 sera samples were collected during 3 series of sampling. The first one was a pre-departure sampling, the second was taken after the first 2 weeks of the stay in Antarctica, and the third one during the last 2 weeks of the stay). Statisti-cally significant decrease in uric acid and HDL cholesterol in sera was observed during the stay. For this purpose, Student´s paired t-test was used. Scheffe test revealed significant differences in levels of HDL between categories of expeditioners who ate significantly larger amount of protein and equal amount of proteins after 44 days of expedition. In this paper, we discuss the total cholesterol (HDL, LDL), which can lead to dietary problems under stress condition in the Czech Antarctic base.