Is obesity caused by environmental pollutants ?

We all know obesity is a BIG problem, BAD eating habits and lack of physical activity are huge contributors to the problem, but as the crisis unfolds, many believe there is more to it.

We are living in a polluted world, many of these environmental pollutants find their way into our bodies. Are environmental pollutants role players ?

Hormones matter

Every women will tell you, hormones and weight troubles go hand-in-hand. Estrogen is typically the hormone women are bashing.

For the record, estrogen, the hormone most women love to hate, is actually a good guy in the fat wars. Estrogen is responsible for those sexy curves and curves require the hunger neurons to be silenced.

When estrogen leaves, around menopause, the munchies often begin in earnest, leaving many women with post-menopausal layers.

Estrogen is sensitive

As a beautiful sexy “lady”, estrogen is sensitive to disruptions to her normal rhythm, disruptions can come from both internal and external sources.

It is the external disrupters that are drawing attention, they are already implicated in fertility problems, in both man and beast.

Endocrine disrupters packing on the pound ?

A recent Danish study, suggests these chemicals may be more than innocent bystanders in obesity in women.

The study began 20 years ago, samples of blood were taken from pregnant women. The level of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), an endocrine disrupter, doing the rounds at the time, was assessed for each women.

Twenty years later, the researchers tracked down these women to find out, how their babies had faired. Among the variables investigated in the twenty year olds was their current BMI i.e. levels of obesity.

Fat girls had bigger doses in utero

The surprise, PFOA levels in Mom during development seemed to matter, in girls at least.

The fat girls tended to be those whose mothers had the highest levels of PFOA during pregnancy.

Leptin and insulin levels, hormones which are big players in obesity, were a little higher in all the twenty year olds, boys and girls, fat and thin, who had been exposed to higher levels of PFOA during their development.

Coincidence or cause ?

It is impossible to tell at this stage, studies like this are only able to shine a light on possibilities not positivelies.

But it is food for thought ?

Avoiding exposure to these kinds of chemicals, is likely to be a good idea for all, but is especially important for pregnant women.

Prenatal Exposure to Perfluorooctanoate and Risk of Overweight at 20 Years of Age: A Prospective Cohort Study. Environmental Health Perspectives (2012) Thorhallur I. Halldorsson, Dorte Rytter, Line Småstuen Haug, Bodil Hammer Bech, Inge Danielsen, Georg Becher, Tine Brink Henriksen, Sjurdur F. Olsen.

Interested in learning more about the chemistry behind those extra fat layers ?

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DOI: 10.1289/ehp.1104034Know someone who will find this post useful ? Share it on facebook, linkedi n, twitter