May 25, 2015

expert reaction to study investigating traffic noise and midriff bulge

The relationship between noise generated by traffic and body mass index (BMI), waist circumference and waist–hip ratio was explored in a study published in the journal Occupational & Environmental Medicine. The authors reported that traffic noise was associated with an increase in waist circumference and waist-hip ratio but not BMI, and that combined exposure to more than one type of transport noise increased the risk further.

Dr Anna Hansell, Assistant Director, Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU), MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health, Imperial College London, said:

“A number of recently published studies have found associations between transport noise and high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. This study investigates possible mechanisms that might support and help explain these findings. Here, the theory is that noise acts as a stressor and increases cortisol production, which might lead to increased fat deposition around the midriff. The study just published by Pyko et al. is a cross-sectional analysis looking at road traffic and combined transport noise. It is harder to establish a causal association between exposure and outcome with this type of study design than in a longitudinal study. However, a longitudinal follow-up of the same individuals published last year by the same research group also found links between waist circumference and aircraft noise.

“While interesting, this is one of the first studies to look at the link between waist size and traffic noise, so it’s definitely too soon to be able to blame your increasing waist-line on traffic noise! The study needs to be replicated in other areas and in other study populations to confirm the findings. Also, the size of the reported associations with traffic noise are small. Eating a sensible diet and taking regular exercise remains the best way to help prevent a midriff bulge.”

‘Exposure to traffic noise and markers of obesity’ by Andrei Pyko et al. published in Occupational & Environmental Medicine on Monday 25 May 2015.

Declared interests

Dr Anna Hansell is also Honorary Consultant, Public Health and Primary Care, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.  Funding for SAHSU comes from Public Health England (previously Health Protection Agency) as part of joint funding by MRC and PHE for the MRC-PHE Centre for Environment and Health. The MRC-PHE Centre also gets funding more generally for the study of environment and health issues including noise and air pollution from NIHR, MRC/NERC, Wellcome Trust, the European Union and Defra.  Anna Hansell declares consultancy fees from AECOM for environmental consultancy work on environmental noise, as well as a Greenpeace membership (she has not received any money from Greenpeace, nor been involved in campaigns).