Childhood obesity risks linked to poor air quality
The World Obesity Federation estimates childhood obesity will more than double by 2035. However research from the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine suggests more factors might be playing into the problem than originally thought.
The research, which was based in China, studied 5,834 mothers/children from three months prior to conception to the child reaching two years old. Experts discovered that mothers who had been exposed to elevated levels of particulate matter put their children at a higher risk of developing obesity. Additionally, exposure to nitrogen dioxide (NO2) was also found to be associated with higher body weight growth.
Particulate matter (PM) is a mixture of solid particulates and liquid droplets in the air and can come from dust, ash, smoke and soot. NO2 is a brown, acidic gas that is produced when fossil fuels are burned. Once inhaled, both of them can be extremely harmful to human health.
To conduct the study, which also included experts from Duke University and Fudan University in Shanghai, China, researchers measured PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 levels before conception and during each trimester of pregnancy using high-resolution models matched at residential addresses. Likewise, once the children were born, their weight and BMI were assessed every three months.
Mothers who were exposed to a low level of pollutants were compared to those with a relatively high exposure levels.
It was found that greater exposure to PM2.5, PM10 and NO2 before pregnancy was linked to increases in BMI or BMIZ (a measurement that compares a child’s BMI to the average BMI for their age and gender). Moreover, experts outlined wight growth was found to be more prevalent in males and the children of mothers under 35 years old.
Jiawen Liao, PhD, a postdoctoral research associate in population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine and first author of the study said: ‘These findings imply that the three months before conception are important, and that people who plan to bear children should consider taking measures to lower their air pollution exposure to reduce their children’s risk for obesity.’
Zhanghua Chen, PhD, an assistant professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine and the study’s senior author added: ‘The magnitude is small, but because air pollution is widespread and everybody is exposed, the risk of air pollution exposure on children’s obesity risk may be substantial and may start before their mothers’ pregnancy.’
Arguably, this study couldn’t have come at a better time as figures from the World Obesity Federation show obesity levels among children are skyrocketing. Data from their World Obesity Atlas 2023 estimates by 2035 childhood obesity will more than double from 2020 levels – by 100% in boys to 208 million, and 125% in girls to 175 million.
Studies like this one can help offer preventative advice on how to avoid childhood obesity – one of the biggest public health issues facing the UK, which can lead to heart disease, strokes, some cancers and diabetes.
This article was first published on our sister title’s website Air Quality News.
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