Initial results from a study of Chris Hadfield and other astronauts who spent months aboard the International Space Station have turned up changes like those seen in someone developing Type 2 diabetes on Earth.
The results, to be presented at an international meeting in Waterloo, Ont., on Tuesday, are evidence for yet another deleterious effect of spaceflight that could impact long-duration voyages, such as a trip to Mars. It also demonstrates the close parallels between life in space and a sedentary lifestyle in Canada and elsewhere, where diabetes has become a growing problem for an inactive population.
“Is it a surprise? Not completely,” said Richard Hughson, director of the University of Waterloo lab that led the study. In the confined, zero-g environment of the space station, astronauts experience almost none of the daily physical demands required by normal life on the ground. “They are the most sedentary working population that you can find.”
See full Globe and Mail story: Effects of spaceflight found to mirror onset of Type 2 diabetes.