Living Next To A Busy Road Could Increase Risk Of Obesity, Scientists Warn

Why Living Next To A Busy Road Could Increase Obesity Risk
|

Do you live next to a busy road, train track or even under a flight path? If so, it could have an effect on the size on your waistline.

A new study has unearthed some eye-opening facts about the effects of noise pollution on obesity.

Researchers believe that main roads, which often have increased noise pollution from traffic, could have an adverse reaction on residents' sleeping patterns.

Lack of sleep causes reduced energy levels, which can then lead to a more sedentary lifestyle and make residents less willing to exercise.

Open Image Modal

The research, published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), found those who live under a flight path or near an airport were most likely to suffer from weight problems as a result of noise pollution.

The study also found that for every five-decibel increase above the standard traffic noise level of 45dB, the average person gains an extra 0.2cm on their waist measurement.

Andrei Pyko, lead author of the study at Sweden's Karolinska Institutet, said: "Traffic noise is a common and increasing environmental exposure, primarily due to ongoing urbanisation and growth of the transport sector."

Pyko added: "Road traffic is the dominating source, followed by railway and aircraft noise. Health effects related to traffic noise are widespread and span from annoyance, sleep disturbances and changes in stress hormone levels to adverse effects on the cardiovascular system.

"Increasing evidence points to traffic noise as a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases such as hypertension, myocardial infarction and stroke. Recent findings suggest that traffic noise may also affect the metabolic system, for example, inducing central obesity and type 2 diabetes."

According to the study of 5,075 men and women in Sweden, central obesity is associated with exposure to railway and aircraft noise, and a particularly high risk was seen for combined exposure to all sources of traffic noise.

Participants in areas with lower noise levels were more likely to have lived 10 years or more at the same address, have lower household income and report less sleep disturbances, the study in the BMJ's Occupational and Environmental Medicine publication found.

Those exposed to higher noise levels were more likely to be single and report current smoking, psychological distress and noise annoyance.

Story continues below...

Britain's Obesity Crisis
Katie Hopkins Causes Twitter Outrage For Saying She Would Not Employ An Overweight Person(01 of20)
Open Image Modal
Speaking on ITV's This Morning, Katie Hopkins told fellow guest Jay Cole, a 22-stone, unemployed single mum, that she would never employ someone of her size. READ MORE. (credit:Rex/ITV)
Flu Jab Could Aid Weight Loss And Fight Obesity(02 of20)
Open Image Modal
An obesity vaccine has been developed that uses the immune system to keep the body slim. The "flab jab" has shown promising early results in mouse studies. If the vaccine passes further safety trials, scientists believe it could provide a revolutionary new weapon against obesity. READ MORE. (credit:Rex)
Anti-Obesity Advert: What Happens To Our Organs When We Eat Junk Food (VIDEO)(03 of20)
Open Image Modal
If you’ve got a craving for an afternoon calorific chocolate bar or you’re thinking about ordering a greasy takeaway for tonight’s dinner – take a seat and watch this (rather disgusting) video before you tuck in: WATCH VIDEO. (credit:YouTube)
Reversing the Obesity Epidemic, Blogs Sam Feltham, Entrepreneur & Health Activist(04 of20)
Open Image Modal
Tax Fizzy Drinks, Restrict Fast Food Outlets By Schools To Combat Obesity, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges Demands(05 of20)
Open Image Modal
The Academy of Medical Royal Colleges (AMRC), which represents nearly every one of Britain's 220,000 doctors, is pressing ministers, councils, the NHS and food organisations for action on what it calls "the greatest public health crisis affecting the UK", the Guardian said. READ MORE.
Call for Obese Children To Be Offered Stomach Surgery(06 of20)
Open Image Modal
Obese children should be offered stomach surgery in an effort to help them reduce their weight to safer levels, a leading doctor has said. Professor David Haslam, chairman of the National Obesity Forum, said radical measures were needed to tackle the "desperate situation" of childhood obesity. READ MORE.
Britain's Obesity Epidemic: Are We Addicted to Sugar? Blogs Luke Dale-HarrisFreelance journalist and writer for Addiction Helper(07 of20)
Open Image Modal
Middle-Class Children More Likely To Be Obese Than Working-Class Kids, Study Reveals(08 of20)
Open Image Modal
By charting youngsters' obesity levels and where they lived, a team at Leeds Metropolitan University found that those in "middle-affluent" areas of Leeds were more likely to be very overweight than those in very poor or very wealthy postcode areas. The trend was particularly high among girls. READ MORE.
Obesity Determined By Genes Not Just Unhealthy Lifestyle And Diet, Research Reveals(09 of20)
Open Image Modal
Genes are largely to blame for bulging waistlines, a study has found. READ MORE. (credit:Alamy)
A Fat Tax Is No 'Cure' for Obesity - Denmark and Captain Obvious Tell Us Why, blogs Natalie de Winter(10 of20)
Open Image Modal
Rise In Knee Pain Linked To Obesity, Suggests Surgeon(11 of20)
Open Image Modal
Consultant orthopaedic surgeon Ronan Banim said that surgeons are seeing knees that are "literally being crushed" by excess weight. READ MORE. (credit:Rex)
Fat People 'Lack Willpower' To Diet Despite Cancer Risk(12 of20)
Open Image Modal
Nearly two-thirds of overweight people recognise the perils of their heftiness but fail to do anything about it, Cancer Research UK said. READ MORE. (credit:Rex)
Can Editors and Journalists Give Obesity a Make-Over, Please? Blogs Dr David AshtonMedical Director, Healthier Weight(13 of20)
Open Image Modal
Obese People Should Have Benefits Cut If They Do Not Exercise, Argues Proposal For Westminster Council(14 of20)
Open Image Modal
Obese people who refuse to exercise could have their benefits cut under controversial plans being considered by a flagship London council. The report, published for Conservative-led Westminster City Council by think-tank the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU), points out obesity costs the NHS £1.5bn every year. READ MORE. (credit:Getty)
NHS Provision To Treat Obesity Is 'Inadequate', Report Suggests(15 of20)
Open Image Modal
There is "inadequate" provision to treat obese patients in the NHS, a report suggests. Experts said the healthcare system must adapt to meet the needs of bulging Britain after the new report found that services to manage obesity are "poorly developed". READ MORE. (credit:Rex)
BMI? Is This Really an Accurate Way to Monitor Weight? Blogs Daniel BartlettOwner of Daniel Alexandra Holistic Health and Fitness(16 of20)
Open Image Modal
Why Our Brains Find Fatty Food ‘Boring'(17 of20)
Open Image Modal
In a world where fatty foods are perceived to provide more flavour and sublime satisfaction than their low-fat alternatives, an optimistic study has found that the brain may be less inclined to love fat than we thought. READ MORE. (credit:Alamy)
The War on Obesity: Collateral Damage in Eating Disorder Patients, blogs Rachel EganPint-sized mental health activist(18 of20)
Open Image Modal
Kent Funeral Home Spends Thousands 'Super-Sizing' To Cope With Obesity(19 of20)
Open Image Modal
An undertaker has been forced to spend £40,000 ‘super-sizing’ his business so staff can cope with the increasing number of obese bodies brought to them. READ MORE. (credit:SWNS)
The Formula for Obesity, blogs Rob BlakemanOne of the UK's top celebrity fitness trainers and dieticians(20 of20)
Open Image Modal

Dr Pyko said: "Traffic noise may influence metabolic and cardiovascular functions through sleep disturbances and chronic stress.

"Sleep is an important modulator of hormonal release, glucose regulation and cardiovascular function. Sleep disturbances may affect immune functions, influence the central control of appetite and energy expenditure as well as increase circulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol."

He said short sleep duration may lead to an increased appetite and reduced energy expenditure.

Last year Public Health England's chief nutritionist Alison Tedstone said one in four people in the country is obese, while 37% are overweight.

A survey by Opinium in collaboration with the European Association for the Study of Obesity this month found a third of adults in the UK who think they are merely overweight are actually clinically obese and at risk of major health problems.