Study links obesity with diesel exhaust pollution
Oct 10, 2024, 12:00 PM | Updated: 1:01 pm
PUTNEY, ENGLAND - JANUARY 10: Exhaust fumes from a car in Putney High Street on January 10, 2013 in Putney, England. (Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
(Photo by Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
SALT LAKE CITY — Researchers from Brigham Young University are saying a poor diet isn’t the only reason for weight gain. Exposure to diesel exhaust can be a factor as well.
During a study, researchers exposed mice to diesel exhaust for a month to see how the exhaust affected them.
Juan Arroyo, professor of cell biology and physiology said the research would explain how pollution affects more than just your lungs.
Researchers found the mice used in the study grew more than half a size and would have cell inflammation that leads to obesity and type 2 diabetes.
“Pollution keeps getting worse and worse and worse,” Arroyo said. “We see that obesity and type 2 diabetes is really high in the United States. This [study] can help correlate the exposure that we have with the development with type 2 diabetes.”
Arroyo said many studies look at how pollution affects the lungs and not so much the rest of the body. He said BYU researchers are interested in seeing how pollution affects metabolism when exposed for a longer period of time.
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