Air pollution ‘contributes to obesity in middle aged women’ study says

Women in their late 40s and early 50s saw an increase in their body size and composition measures, reports Aisha Rimi

Study showed that exercise was an effective way to mitigate and offset exposure to air pollution (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Air pollution can contribute to obesity in middle-aged women, a new study reveals.

A study from the University of Michigan, published in Diabetes Care, looked at how the environment impacts weight.

Women in their late 40s and early 50s exposed long-term to pollution – specifically, higher levels of fine particles, nitrogen dioxide and ozone –saw increases in their body size and composition measures, said Xin Wang, epidemiology research investigator at the U-M School of Public Health and the study’s first author.