Beyond Diet And Exercise: Pollution Linked To South Asia’s Metabolic Crisis
What Happened
A paper in The Lancet Regional Health – Southeast Asia argues that diet and physical inactivity alone cannot explain South Asia’s rising cardiometabolic disease burden. It highlights PM2.5 air pollution, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, ultra-processed diets, disrupted sleep and climate-related stress as important environmental exposures affecting metabolic health.
Key Takeaways
Preventing diabetes and heart disease in South Asia may require tackling environmental risks such as air pollution and chemical exposure alongside traditional measures like healthier diets and physical activity.