It might not be the fries: the air that you breathe could be making you fat.
Some new puzzling studies are showing evidence that polluted air can actually be contributing to obesity.
Results are showing that two people can eat the same foods, and exercise the same amount but after a few years, one person might put on more weight and develop what’s being called a faulty metabolism, all thanks to the atmosphere found in and around their home.
Hong Chen, a researcher at Public Health Ontario and the Institute of Clinical Evaluative Sciences in Canada says, “We are starting to understand that the uptake and circulation of air pollution in the body can affect more than just the lungs.”
Apparently, tiny particles found in things like traffic fumes and cigarette smoke can get into the body and disrupt our ability to burn energy.
Qinghua SunAfter of Ohio State University discovered the link through mice.
After subjecting some mice to air pollution for 10 weeks, those who were exposed to pollution showed greater volumes of body fat, around their belly and internal organs.
At the microscopic level, the fat cells in the mice inhaling a fine mist of pollutants were around 20% larger than those who were exposed to clean air.
In addition, the mice exposed to pollution were found to have become less sensitive to insulin, the hormone that signals body cells to convert blood sugar into energy.
“Pollution may trigger inflammation that interferes with the hormones and the brain processing that govern appetite,” states a report on bbc.com.
While most people can stay healthy by eating healthy food and getting enough exercise and sleep, the results of this study provide us with yet another reason to try to avoid being exposed to excess pollution whenever possible.
Photo credit: New Africa/Shutterstock
