Air pollution may cause childhood obesity by disrupting impulse control, study finds

Source: The Guardian

Exposure to common air pollution may cause childhood obesity because it affects children’s ability to control impulse, new first-of-its-kind peer-reviewed research finds.

Particular matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is a neurotoxin that has been linked to obesity, and Mt Sinai researchers say they have for the first time identified impulse control as a potential pathway. The study found that babies exposed to higher levels of PM2.5 during their first year of life were more likely to develop difficulties with controlling impulses later in childhood.

Those behavioral changes were then linked to higher body fat and higher BMI in children between four to eight years old.

“A lot of the obesity research primarily focuses on – and is being shaped by – diet and physical activity, and a lot may not include environmental exposures, including air pollution,” said Jamil Lane, a co-author with Mt Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine.

Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jul/06/air-pollution-childhood-obesity-study