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Car emissions and popular wood-burning stoves might be contributing to weight gain.

Researchers indicate that exposure to harmful air particles originating from vehicle emissions, industrial activities, and the burning of wood in homes and outdoor spaces could lead to weight gain in individuals.

A research project involving over four million individuals across the globe, including in the UK, revealed that individuals residing in regions with significant air pollution were more prone to obesity, larger waist sizes, and increased abdominal fat—the “spare tyre” associated with heart disease and type 2 diabetes.diabetes.

Air pollution has been associated with various long-term health issues, including dementia, asthma, heart conditions, andcancer.

However, the most recent research conducted by Canadian scientists is the initial study to examine the connections with obesity.

It is believed that inhaling contaminated air enables harmful tiny particles called PM2.5 and PM10 to reach deep into the lungs and the bloodstream, causing persistent inflammation in the body.

This can subsequently reduce the body’s metabolic rate, causing it to accumulate more fat and become less effective at handling sugar – leading to an increase in weight.

This suggests that air pollution might lead to weight gain even if individuals maintain the same dietary patterns.

Scientists at McMaster University in Ontario discovered that higher exposure to PM2.5 was linked to an additional 1.2cm in waist size, a rise of one unit in BMI, and a 1.6 percent increase in the waist-to-hip ratio.

Each rise in PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide, a different pollutant, was also linked to gaining weight.

In their study published in the journal Environmental Research, the researchers stated: ‘Elevated levels of PM2.5 and nitrogen dioxide were linked to higher BMI, larger waist size, higher waist-to-hip ratio, and a higher likelihood of both overall and abdominal obesity.’

A study conducted by the Royal College of Physicians earlier this year revealed that air pollution impacts all organs in the body and could be associated with 30,000 fatalities annually in the United Kingdom.

Read more

• Are harmful nitrogen oxides produced by burning fossil fuels quietly causing a surge in obesity and diabetes among young people in Britain?
• Are wood-burning stoves unintentionally causing city dwellers in Britain to breathe in harmful air, making illnesses such as asthma and diabetes worse?
• What are the dangerous health dangers associated with the hazardous PM2.5 pollution levels spreading across the country?
• Is the UK’s trend for using wood-burning stoves contributing to a hidden air pollution problem, surpassing emissions from vehicle exhausts?
• What is causing increasing obesity rates in the UK to transform seemingly normal lifestyles into hidden dangers for liver function?