ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Environmental Health and Exposome
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1589201
Association between air pollution, altitudes and overweight/obesity in China
Provisionally accepted
- Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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Background: Air pollution and altitudes are important obesogenic environmental risks.No studies have examined the influence of the co-exposure of these two risks and Body Mass Index (BMI). We discuss the concentration-response (C-R) relationships and potential mechanisms between nine air pollution, altitudes, and BMI. Methods: Data from 38,617 individuals aged 18-90 years in the China Family Panel Survey were used. Nine air exposure variables-Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5), Sulfur dioxide (SO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), Ozone (O3), Black Carbon (BC), Methane (CH4), Ammonia (NH3), and Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds (NMVOCs)-and altitude grid data were generated through the combination of satellite remote sensing inversion data and nationally representative surveys. Bayesian kernel machine regression and the moderated chain-mediation model were employed to examine the C-R relationships and potential mechanisms. Results: Four air pollution-PM2.5, BC, NMVOCs, and CH4-were positively associated with OW/OB. A "negative-positive-negative correlation" pattern across low altitudes (τ30 to τ55, 73.77-403.87 meters), medium altitudes (τ55 to τ75, 403.88-944.73 meters), and high altitudes (τ75 to τ99, 944.74-2610.72 meters) was revealed for the correlation between altitudes and BMI. Altitudes negatively moderated the relationship between air pollution and BMI. A chain mediator, consisting of physical activity and sleep quality sequentially, partially mediated the association between air pollution and BMI. Conclusions: Co-exposure of air pollution and altitude had a complex influence on individual BMI. Maintaining a healthy environment is important for the joint prevention and control of obesity.
Keywords: Obesity, Air Pollution, Altitudes, Concentration-Response relationships, China Study
Received: 07 Mar 2025; Accepted: 12 May 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, yu and liu. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Yugen Wang, Xi'an Jiaotong University, Xi'an, China
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