Fat, weight gain can be caused by air inhalation: study

Researchers are conducting studies to see if the quality of air can cause the body to hold on to more fat, gain weight and even increase a person's chances of developing diabetes.

In a startling report by USA Today, the environment can play a role in how much weight a person can shed. According to a study, if two individuals ate the same types of food and performed the same exercises, the one who lives in a smog-filled area will end up holding more pounds after a few years.

Researchers are pointing to what is inside the smoke as the culprit. According to BBC, the poisonous fumes from cigarettes and running vehicles contain tiny particles that irritate the insides of the body, preventing it from expending energy.

Other than respiratory diseases, prolonged inhalation of the haze can cause the body more likely to develop a host of other serious medical conditions.

Public Health Ontario says Hong Chen is a scientist and assistant professor at the University of Toronto in Canada. In a statement to BBC, Chen stated, "We are starting to understand that the uptake and circulation of air pollution in the body can affect more than just the lungs."

Data from earlier tests confirm this theory Qinghua Sun from Ohio State University conducted tests on laboratory mice in an attempt to understand why urban residents have a higher risk of developing heart disease as compared to individuals who live in the countryside.

The availability of fast food is one possible culprit, but the researcher wanted to see if the surrounding environment could also be a cause. During the experiment, the rats were split into two groups: one group was placed in a container which contained filtered air while the other contained smog.

After 10 weeks, the mice that were exposed to the unclean fumes exhibited 20 percent more body fat than the rats who breathed in clean air. These rats had also become less sensitive to insulin, increasing their likelihood of developing diabetes.

BBC says that Chen also went through the medical records of approximately 62,000 individuals in Ontario, Canada over a period of 14 years. The data revealed that inhaling 10 micrograms of smog can increase a person's chances of developing diabetes by 11 percent.

Although the results of Chen's recent study are yet to be released, some countries have already acknowledged the relationship between air pollution and weight gain. In Europe, the European Public Health Alliance has declared that being unable "to breathe clean air also impacts the development of other chronic conditions such as diabetes and obesity."

Michael Jerrett from the University of California, Berkeley has a few suggestions. A quicker solution is to add purifiers to homes, offices and schools to remove some of the particles.