Photo: Unsplash/ Ales Krivec.
“Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air. Unless the air is polluted. Then don’t, or you’ll get fat.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson.
At this point we’re all pretty aware of some of the factors that contribute to weight gain: diet, exercise, genetics…etc. However, a recent study determined that the quality of the air you breathe may factor into the body weight equation as well.
It’s no secret that air pollution leads to a host of health problems. Respiratory illness, cancer, kidney damage, asthma, and more have been linked to air pollution. However, up until this point, little research has been done studying the connection between body weight and air quality.
However, a new study published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology observed two groups of pregnant lab rats and their offspring. One group was exposed to the intensely polluted air of Beijing for a number of weeks, while the other was exposed only to filtered air. After just 19 days of exposure to the polluted air, the first group experienced the following effects:
-97% higher total cholesterol
-50% higher LDL cholesterol
-46% higher Triglycerides
-Higher insulin resistance levels (forerunner of Type 2 diabetes)
-Inflamed lungs and liver
Additionally, the rats were fed identical diets for the duration of the study. Despite this, the rats exposed to air pollution were clearly heavier than the control group, with females weighing an average of 10% more and males weighing an average of 18% more.
Researchers believe that the “TLR2/4-dependent inflammatory activation and lipid oxidation in the lung can spill over systemically, leading to metabolic dysfunction and weight gain.”
More research will be required to better demonstrate the connection between air quality and weight gain in humans, but this study is a damn good start. As if health problems and global warming weren’t enough, here’s just one more reason to prioritize air quality.
