What Is Chronic Adaptation?

Chronic adaptation occurs when the body is prompted to make physiological changes in response to a change in conditions. Chronic adaptation can be triggered by repeated exercise, or by the lack of nutritional components or oxygen.

  1. Exercise

    • Chronic adaptation is a long-term physiological change which is made by the body in response to repeated physical activity over time. The enlargement of particular muscles as a result of exercise is an example of chronic adaptation. A temporary change as a result of exercise, such as a raised pulse or respiration rate, is not chronic adaptation as it is only a short-term effect. Such short-term changes are known as "acute response."

    Lack of Oxygen

    • Chronic adaptation can also occur as a response to oxygen deprivation, also known as hypoxia. In a 2003 study conducted by the University of California-San Diego, it was found that hamsters kept in an environment with relatively little oxygen adapted physiologically to this environmental change with a reduced heart rate and an increase in blood viscosity.

    Diet

    • A restriction of certain substances in the diet can lead to chronic adaptation as the body adapts to function under these dietary restrictions. A lack of phosphates in the diet is associated with changes in renal function, for example. This is chronic adaptation in action. Another example is the development in patients with eating disorders of "lanugo." Lanugo is a downy hair which appears on the body of a bulimic or anorexic individual, representing the body's attempt to adapt to conditions of malnutrition by providing additional hair for warmth.