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Epidemiologic evidence suggests that air pollution is a risk factor for childhood obesity. Limited experimental data have shown that early-life exposure to ambient particles either increases susceptibility to diet-induced weight gain in adulthood or increases insulin resistance, adiposity, and inflammation. However, no data have directly supported a link between air pollution and non-diet-induced weight increases. In a rodent model, we found that breathing Beijing’s highly polluted air resulted in weight gain and cardiorespiratory and metabolic dysfunction. Compared to those exposed to filtered air, pregnant rats exposed to unfiltered Beijing air were significantly heavier at the end of pregnancy. At 8 wk old, the offspring prenatally and postnatally exposed to unfiltered air were significantly heavier than those exposed to filtered air. In both rat dams and their offspring, after continuous exposure to unfiltered air we observed …