ISLAMABAD, Oct 15 (ABC): Scientists are discovering several new ailments triggered by air pollution, and a new study suggests that air pollution is another factor that could increase the middle-aged women’s weight, body mass index, waist circumference and body fat. Researchers from the University of Michigan in the US found that exposure to air pollution might contribute to higher body fat, higher proportion fat and lower lean mass among midlife women. According to another study published in the journal of Diabetes Care, exposure to air pollution might increase body fat by 4.5 percent, or about 2.6 pounds.
Women in their late 40s and early 50s, when exposed to air pollution for longer time, specifically to higher levels of fine particles such as nitrogen dioxide and ozone, experienced increased body size and composition measures,” said Xin Wang, epidemiology research investigator at the university’s School of Public Health. Data for the study came from 1,654 American, Chinese, and Japanese women from the ‘Study of Women’s Health across the Nation’, medical-net reported. These women, whose baseline median age was nearly 50 years, were tracked from 2000 to 2008. Researchers explored the interaction between air pollution and physical activity on body composition. High levels of physical activity was an effective way to mitigate and offset exposure to air pollution, the research showed. “Since the study focused on midlife women, the findings can’t be generalised to men or women in other age ranges,” Wang said.