Beijing’s Pollution is So Bad it Might Cause Weight Gain

As if choking on China’s heavily polluted air wasn’t bad enough, now it could be making people fat.

A recent Chinese study, published in the March issue of “Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology” (FASEB), has found a link between the Beijing’s horribly polluted air and weight gain in rodents.

Chinese scientists exposed a group of rats to Beijing’s outdoor air for 19 days and compared the results to the control group of rats who were given filtered air to breathe. Both groups of rats were given the exact same diet over the course of the experiment.

The rats who had breathed the polluted air were found to be heavier — their lungs were literally heavier and their livers were inflammed. The polluted rats had 97% higher total cholesterol, 50% higher DSL cholesterol, 46% higher triglyceride fat, and a higher resistance to insulin typically associated with Type 2 diabetes.

After 8 weeks, the significance of the weight gain leveled out — the polluted rats only had a 10-18% weight gain compared to the control rats.

Of course, most humans aren’t the same as rats, so as with most studies involving redents, the results shouldn’t be taken too seriously. However, the study’s senior author, Junfeng Zhang, warned of the significance of the results:

“Since chronic inflammation is recognized as a factor contributing to obesity and since metabolic diseases such as diabetes and obesity are closely related, our findings provide clear evidence that chronic exposure to air pollution increases the risk for developing obesity.

“If translated and verified in humans, these findings will support the urgent need to reduce air pollution, given the growing burden of obesity in today’s highly polluted world.”

Maybe buying canned or jarred fresh air may be a good idea after all.

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