Fatty foods vs. polluted air ... which is worse?

[elliot]

Just curious as to what would be doing me more harm...
A big dollop of mayo on my sandwich/salad and a bag of crisps, or a 45 min cycle ride in rush hour through the streets of East London??
On a regular basis, which would be more detrimental to my health and which would cause the worst long term damage?

[butter1]

Hmmm....I'm guessing riding a bike through rush hour in London.  Just for the pure fact of pollution. 

[natty23]

Hmmm tricky one.

A dollop of mayo and packet of crisps doesn't sound too bad, but if its day in day out for a significant amount of time, i think it might actually be worse.

Breathing in 'pollution' long term could cause respiratory problems and a few knock on tings such as reduced oxygen capacity of blood which may lead to tissue damage elsewhere in the body.

Whereas eating an unhealthy diet can lead to a whole host of heart and vascular conditions, digestive problems etc. having said that if you're exercising and eating healthy for the remainder of the time, perhaps they would balance each other out.   

great question ;)