Childhood obesity is on the rise and can be a concerning medical condition that can set up the stage for diabetes, high blood pressure and asthma. A recent study found that living in a polluted area and a high population density, may up the risk of obesity in children. Ironically, the World Health Organization revealed that 90% of the world’s children are breathing unsafe air. Exposure to smoking (both maternal smoking during pregnancy and second-hand smoking during childhood), air pollution, as well as certain characteristics of the built environment may be associated with a higher development of obesity in children, according to a recent study.
Researchers at the Barcelona Institute for Global Health and the University of Southern California have carried out the first-ever study into how multiple environmental factors combine to cause obesity. Worldwide obesity has nearly tripled since 1975. More than 340 million children over the age of five are overweight and obese around the world, plus 38 million aged fewer than five according to the World Health Organisation.
The new study, which forms a part of the Human Early Life Exposome- the measure of all the exposures of an individual in a lifetime and how those exposures relate to health, (HELIX) project and was published in Environmental Health Perspectives, used data on more than 1,300 children aged 6 to 11 years from birth cohort studies in six European countries: France, Greece, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, body fat mass and skinfold thickness were studied to determine the children’s obesity status. Blood and urine samples from the children and their mothers during pregnancy were also analysed. The results showed that exposure to smoking and air pollution was associated with higher childhood BMI.
Another recent study found that early exposure to air pollution from vehicles can also increase the risk of obesity in children. High levels of nitrogen dioxide, emitted by diesel engines, significantly led to weight gain in children. Plus, the other pollutants produced by road traffic have also been linked to obesity in children.
“These findings provide further evidence that modifying environmental exposures early in life can limit the risk of obesity and associated complications,” said first author Martine Vrijheid, a research professor at ISGlobal and principal investigator of the HELIX project. The researchers note that a better understanding of the impact of environmental exposure could create opportunities to take action that reverses the trend of increasing childhood obesity, ultimately mitigating its long-term dangers.
