Here is another reason why air pollution should not be tolerated. A new study found that air pollution can be bad for people's weight, not just for their lungs, heart, and sinuses.
According to a new research, a person's expanding waistline may be because of the low quality of air he or she breathes in. The study, now published in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology, lab rats exposed to the highly polluted air of Beijing for three to eight weeks gained much more weight than those in the control group. The same lab rats experienced other obesity-related health complications too.
The lead researcher of the study, Duke University professor of global and environmental health Junfeng "Jim" Zhang, said that being exposed to air pollution for so long can slow down one's metabolism. The slowing down of metabolism can make a person susceptible to obesity.
Moreover, rats exposed for eight weeks were heavier than those exposed for three weeks. This suggests that longer-term exposure to air pollution can lead to weight problems. "If translated and verified in humans, these findings will support the urgent need to reduce air pollution, given the growing burden of obesity in today's highly polluted world," Zhang said in a press release.
The researchers' use of China's air is not done for the sake of it. Recent reports from the country revealed that the poor quality of air in the country is one big problem. Beijing in particular, is surrounded by mountains. As such, the emissions from the many factories within the city are trapped. Interestingly however, the overweight population in China is still not as large as the overweight population in the United States.
