Air pollution is making people lazier, study claims

LEICESTER, United Kingdom — Air pollution is making people lazier, a new study claims. According to scientists in the United Kingdom, current levels in that nation are causing an extra 22 minutes of inactivity each day.

This surprising finding emerged from a study conducted by scientists at the University of Leicester. They looked into how background pollution levels influence physical activity and the tendency to be inactive. Their findings revealed that long-term exposure to the current levels of air pollution lead to an increase in time spent being inactive each day. For the study, researchers defined inactivity as time spent lying down, sitting, reclining, or standing without moving.

“We’re already aware that air pollution contributes to cardiometabolic and respiratory diseases. The World Health Organization in 2019 estimated that 99% of the global population breathes air containing high levels of pollutants,” notes Dr. Jonathan Goldney from the University of Leicester in a statement.

“What’s concerning is that air pollution might also be affecting people’s willingness or ability to exercise, and their enjoyment of it. This could encourage more time spent indoors and less time being active outside, creating a vicious cycle that increases the risk of chronic diseases.”

To arrive at their findings, the research team analyzed data from 644 individuals at risk of Type 2 diabetes who were part of a program encouraging physical activity through walking.

“Participants wore accelerometers around their waists for seven consecutive days, tracking their physical activity and inactive periods over three years. This provided us with a unique opportunity to observe long-term trends,” Dr. Goldney says according to SWNS.

The study compared annual average levels of common air pollutants with yearly changes in inactive time.

“While we didn’t find a link between pollutants and changes in physical activity or step count, there was a clear association with an increase in inactivity,” Dr. Goldney reports. “For instance, an increase of 1 μgm−3 in atmospheric nitrogen dioxide concentration correlated with an increase in sedentary time of about 1.52 minutes per day each year. In some cases, high nitrogen dioxide exposure was linked to up to 22 extra minutes of inactivity per day each year.”

These findings, published in the Journal of Public Health, underscore the need to reduce air pollution for public health benefits.

“If air pollution is indeed driving this rise in inactivity, measures like low emission zones could significantly impact individual sedentary behaviors and have a profound effect on public health,” Dr. Goldney concludes.

You might also be interested in:

• Air pollution to blame for alarming rise in heart attacks and strokes, study shows
• Air pollution decreases in the U.S. — but not everyone is breathing easier
• Is your home poisoning you? Majority of adults unaware of indoor air pollution

South West News Service writer Isobel Williams contributed to this report.