Study Overview

A study presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, indicates⁤ that ⁣a healthy diet, notably one abundant in fresh fruit, may offer some protection against the respiratory‍ health impacts of air pollution. The research was presented on ⁤September 5, 2023, by Pimpika ⁤kaewsri, a PhD student from the Center for Environmental Health and Sustainability at the University of Leicester, UK.

According to the World Health ⁤Institution ⁤(WHO), over 90% of the global population breathes air that exceeds recommended pollution levels. ‍Exposure to higher⁣ levels of‍ air pollution ‍is consistently linked to decreased ⁢lung function.

Kaewsri ⁣explained, “Over 90% of the global ⁤population is exposed to air pollution levels that exceed WHO guidelines, and ample research shows that exposure to ⁢higher air pollution levels is associated with reduced lung function. Separately,a ⁤healthy diet — particularly ⁣one high ⁣in fruits and vegetables — has been linked to ⁣better lung function. We wanted to‍ investigate whether a healthy diet‍ could protect⁣ people from the harmful⁤ effects of air pollution.”

Key‍ Findings & methodology

the study ⁤analyzed data from over 344,000 participants in the UK biobank, a large-scale biomedical database and research resource. Researchers examined the relationship between dietary habits, air pollution exposure (measured by residential postcode), and lung function (assessed through spirometry tests). ‍The study accounted for factors like smoking, socioeconomic status, and ⁤body mass index.

While the full details of the study’s findings haven’t been published in a peer-reviewed journal yet, the preliminary results suggest that individuals with a higher intake of fruit demonstrated a smaller decline in lung function associated ‍with air pollution exposure. The protective effect was⁢ more pronounced in individuals living in areas with higher pollution levels.

Expert Commentary

Professor De matteis, Chair⁣ of the European Respiratory Society’s expert‍ group⁢ on occupational and environmental health, based at the University of⁤ Turin, Italy, and ⁤not involved in the research, commented on the findings.

“This study confirms the⁣ potential‍ respiratory‍ health benefits of⁤ a healthy diet, especially rich in fresh fruit‍ intake,” De Matteis stated. “However, access to a healthy diet is not ‍equally distributed in the population and, even if the authors adjusted for socioeconomic⁤ status, some ‍residual confounding cannot be ruled out.”

De Matteis emphasized the importance of promoting⁢ plant-rich diets, starting in ‍primary school, not onyl for chronic disease prevention but also for reducing the environmental impact of meat-heavy diets.She also cautioned that dietary choices shouldn’t⁣ overshadow the need for robust government policies ⁤to reduce air pollution, stating, “This does not exempt governments from continuing with environmental policies to reduce air pollution to as low as possible, given there are⁢ no safe exposure levels, and it does not transfer their accountability to individuals whose diet choices⁤ are ⁣often constrained by⁢ economic needs.”