--- title: Exposure to Noise Pollution Raises Obesity Risk description: Swedish researchers found that people regularly exposed to traffic noise are more likely to have bigger waistlines canonical: https://time.com/3895834/traffic-noise-obesity-weight/ author: David Stout article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-26T07:29:43.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T07:36:37.215Z article:section: Health og:title: Here's Why Living on a Noisy Street Could Make You Fatter og:description: Busy traffic may affect more than just your mental health. og:url: https://time.com/3895834/traffic-noise-obesity-weight/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfd6ab5c96be913/698851942dce016d1f9e3e0a/116363718.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: man driving a car, eating a burger og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Here's Why Living on a Noisy Street Could Make You Fatter twitter:description: Busy traffic may affect more than just your mental health. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfd6ab5c96be913/698851942dce016d1f9e3e0a/116363718.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Here's Why Living on a Noisy Street Could Make You Fatter by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout May 26, 2015 7:29 AM UTC  USA, Illinois, Metamora, Close-up of man eating hamburger while driving car USA, Illinois, Metamora, Close-up of man eating hamburger while driving carGetty Images by [David Stout](https://time.com/author/david-stout/) ## David Stout May 26, 2015 7:29 AM UTC The overwhelming hum from nearby traffic is often annoying, but it could also be making individuals more obese, according to new research from Sweden. In an article [featured](http://oem.bmj.com/content/early/2015/04/28/oemed-2014-102516.short?g=w%5Foem%5Fahead%5Ftab) in the _Occupational and Environmental Medicine_ journal this week, researchers said they found that residents of Stockholm exposed regularly to noise from trains, aircraft or road traffic, all experienced growth in their respective waistlines. For individuals that were unlucky enough to have been consistently exposed to all three categories, “the risk of a larger waist doubled from the 25% heightened risk among people exposed to only one noise source,” reports the _Guardian_. The research team was unable to draw a conclusive link between noise pollution and obesity, but suggested that the increase of stress caused by audible irritants may be a possible culprit. “Traffic noise may influence metabolic and cardiovascular functions through sleep disturbances and chronic stress,” said Andrei Pyko, lead author of the study at Sweden’s Karolinska Institutet, [according](https://nz.news.yahoo.com/world/a/28225058/traffic-noise-raises-obesity-risk/) to the Australian Associated Press. And when a person’s sleep patterns are disturbed, it can easily affect “immune functions, influence the central control of appetite and energy expenditure as well as increase circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol.” \[[_Guardian_](http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/may/25/traffic-noise-factor-pot-belly-swedish-study)\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3895834/traffic-noise-obesity-weight/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3895834/traffic-noise-obesity-weight/"},"headline":"Here's Why Living on a Noisy Street Could Make You Fatter","datePublished":"2015-05-26T07:29:43.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T07:36:37.215Z","description":"Living next to a busy thoroughfare may affect more than just your mental well-being","url":"https://time.com/3895834/traffic-noise-obesity-weight/","keywords":["Diet & Nutrition","Stress","Research","Obesity","health","Traffic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfd6ab5c96be913/698851942dce016d1f9e3e0a/116363718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"David Stout","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/david-stout/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdfd6ab5c96be913/698851942dce016d1f9e3e0a/116363718.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"man driving a car, eating a burger","caption":"man driving a car, eating a burger","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/dietnutrition/","name":"Diet & Nutrition"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3895834/traffic-noise-obesity-weight/","name":"Here's Why Living on a Noisy Street Could Make You Fatter"}}]}] ```