Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome and Obesity (Oct 2020)

Impact of Commuting Mode on Obesity Among a Working Population in Beijing, China: Adjusting for Air Pollution

  • Liu Y,
  • Tao L,
  • Zhang J,
  • Liu J,
  • Li H,
  • Liu X,
  • Luo Y,
  • Zhang J,
  • Wang W,
  • Guo X

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 13
pp. 3959 – 3968

Abstract

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Yue Liu,1,2,* Lixin Tao,1,2,* Jie Zhang,1,2 Jia Liu,1,2 Haibin Li,1,2 Xiangtong Liu,1,2 Yanxia Luo,1,2 Jingbo Zhang,3 Wei Wang,4 Xiuhua Guo1,2 1Department of Epidemiology and Health Statistics, School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2Beijing Municipal Key Laboratory of Clinical Epidemiology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Beijing Physical Examination Center, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 4Global Health and Genomics, School of Medical Sciences and Health, Edith Cowan University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xiuhua Guo Email [email protected]: Few studies have considered the interplay between commuting mode and air pollution on obesity. The aim of this study was to examine whether workplace air pollutants exposure modifying the associations between different commuting mode and obesity.Methods: A cross-sectional study of workers in Beijing was conducted in 2016. The study sample comprised 10,524 participants aged 18 to 65 years old. Outcomes were defined as overall obesity (BMI≥ 28 kg/m2) and abdominal obesity (WC ≥ 85 cm in men and WC ≥ 80 cm in women). Commuting modes were divided into walking, cycling, bus, subway, and car or taxi. Logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios relating commuting mode to overall and abdominal obesity and stratified by gender, controlling for covariates.Results: The association between commuting mode and obesity was more strongly in men than women. In the fully adjusted models, compared with car or taxi commuters, cycling (men: OR=0.37, 95% CI=0.20 to 0.68) or bus (men: OR=0.58, 95% CI=0.36 to 0.94) counterparts had a lower risk of overall obesity. Compared with car or taxi commuters, walking (men: OR=0.57, 95% CI=0.36 to 0.91), bus (men: OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.39 to 0.89), or subway (men: OR=0.59, 95% CI=0.39 to 0.89) counterparts had a lower risk of abdominal obesity. We observed significant interactions between exposure PM10 and cycling on overall obesity in men. After adjusting for air pollutants, the association between commuting mode and obesity was slightly strengthened.Conclusion: This study findings indicate that active (walking or cycling) or public (bus or subway) commuting modes were protected factors for overall and abdominal obesity among men. Air pollutants do not obscure the benefits of active or public commuting for obesity. These associations support the policy for increasing active or public commuting as a strategy to reduce the prevalence of obesity.Keywords: obesity, commuting mode, air pollutant, body mass index, waist circumference, office worker

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