--- title: Air Pollution Heightens Risk of Obesity and Diabetes: Study description: The air in Beijing may cause metabolic dysfunction canonical: https://time.com/4233241/air-pollution-obesity-diabetes/ author: Sarah Begley article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-02-22T22:49:59.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T15:16:48.379Z article:section: Science og:title: Study: Air Pollution Heightens Risk of Obesity and Diabetes og:description: The air in Beijing may cause metabolic dysfunction og:url: https://time.com/4233241/air-pollution-obesity-diabetes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23c94f96272bcc40/69887e9ebc6cfca5593dbd6d/beijing-smog.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: beijing-smog og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Study: Air Pollution Heightens Risk of Obesity and Diabetes twitter:description: The air in Beijing may cause metabolic dysfunction twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23c94f96272bcc40/69887e9ebc6cfca5593dbd6d/beijing-smog.jpeg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study: Air Pollution Heightens Risk of Obesity and Diabetes by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 22, 2016 10:49 PM UTC  A pedestrian walks amid heavy smog in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2015\. A blue alert for heavy air pollution was issued by Beijing municipal emergency response headquarters. A pedestrian walks amid heavy smog in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2015\. A blue alert for heavy air pollution was issued by Beijing municipal emergency response headquarters.Xinhua News Agency—Getty Images by [Sarah Begley](https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/) ## Sarah Begley Feb 22, 2016 10:49 PM UTC Exposure to air pollution was shown to increase the risk of obesity and diabetes in rats, according to a [new study](http://www.fasebj.org/content/early/2016/02/18/fj.201500142.abstract). Researchers from Duke University exposed lab rats either to Beijing air or filtered air for 19 days; at the end, the group that got the [highly polluted Beijing air](http://time.com/4129546/beijing-pollution/) had higher bad cholesterol levels (50%), triglycerides (46%) and total cholesterol (97%), factors that can affect the risk of developing obesity and diabetes, [United Press International](http://www.upi.com/Health%5FNews/2016/02/22/Study-Air-pollution-increases-risk-for-obesity-diabetes/6451456146674/) reports. Male rats exposed to pollution ended the study 18% heavier than their filtered air counterparts, and female rats ended the study 10% heavier. If the same metabolic dysfunction were confirmed to occur in humans, one of the study’s authors said in a press release, “these findings will support the urgent need to reduce air pollution, given the growing burden of obesity in today’s highly polluted world.” \[[UPI](http://www.upi.com/Health%5FNews/2016/02/22/Study-Air-pollution-increases-risk-for-obesity-diabetes/6451456146674/)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4233241/air-pollution-obesity-diabetes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4233241/air-pollution-obesity-diabetes/"},"headline":"Study: Air Pollution Heightens Risk of Obesity and Diabetes","datePublished":"2016-02-22T22:49:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T15:16:48.379Z","description":"The air in Beijing may cause metabolic dysfunction","url":"https://time.com/4233241/air-pollution-obesity-diabetes/","keywords":["Environment"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23c94f96272bcc40/69887e9ebc6cfca5593dbd6d/beijing-smog.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Sarah Begley","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/sarah-begley/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt23c94f96272bcc40/69887e9ebc6cfca5593dbd6d/beijing-smog.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"beijing-smog","caption":"BEIJING, Dec. 29, 2015-- A pedestrian walks amid heavy smog in Beijing, capital of China, Dec. 29, 2015. 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