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Phthalates and Obesity

Americans eat too much junk food and don’t exercise enough, which has led to a nationwide obesity epidemic. But now researchers say there may be another factor contributing to the growing mass around our middles – chemicals.

A group of chemicals called phthalates, or “endocrine disruptors,” have been shown to cause a host of problems, particularly in the way they can disrupt sexual development in a child exposed in utero. One of those disruptions – reducing testosterone levels – may also lead to a lifelong propensity for weight gain, new research shows.

Previous studies have found a link between low testosterone levels and increased abdominal fat in men, along with insulin resistance (which leads to diabetes).

Now a study of the endocrine disruptor tributyltin found that exposure to this chemical caused marine animals to produce an increased number of fat cells, making the animal get fatter faster. These cells then produced more of the hormone that signals hunger. The effect appeared to be irreversible, even if the animal was later put on a low-calorie diet combined with increased physical activity.

While all of the research linking endocrine disruptors to obesity has been performed on animals, scientists say fat cells behave the same in humans as they do in animals.

People are exposed to endocrine disrupting chemicals on an almost continual basis. They are in numerous consumer products, including reusable plastic water bottles, baby toys, dental sealants and industrial products, such as the paint used on ships. Some, such as DES, were discontinued when they were found to cause harm to human offspring, but are still used on animals. DES is currently being used to fatten livestock but is no longer given to pregnant women because it caused reproductive problems in their children.

Studies have found that phthalates can be harmful even if exposures occur in very low doses.

To learn more about this story, go to The Washington Post. 

To access the study, click here.

To read more about this and other environmental health issues, go to: www.environmentalhealthnews.org, www.ourstolenfuture.org, or www.healthandenvironment.org