Obesity-promoting Chemicals Need to be Regulated

The evidence for the serious impact of obesity-promoting chemicals will make recommendations for simple policies that safely reduce people’s exposure to these chemicals.

In contrast to diet and physical activity interventions, which is hard to be implemented, obesity-promoting chemicals in food packaging and other materials can be modified through regulation.

Everyday exposure to obesity-promoting chemicals (obesogens) poses a risk to public health, needs stronger regulation to minimize exposure and protect people’s health, according to evidence presented today at the 59th Annual European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology Meeting.

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‘Obesity prevention neglects the crucial role of chemical exposures as a third leg of the stool.’

The long-held mindset that diet and physical activity are the sole determinants of body weight has now been overturned, and it is understood that genetics and environmental factors also have an important role.

However, the damaging influence of hormone-disrupting chemicals on the increasing incidence of obesity has been greatly underappreciated.

These chemicals can scramble the normal metabolism and disturb natural processes for using calories, predisposing to weight gain.

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Researchers have presented compelling evidence from previous studies on the seriousness of exposure to obesogens, including the dangers of three very common chemicals that are often encountered in everyday lives.

The findings are published in the journal Hormone Research in Paediatrics.

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• Bisphenols, found in an aluminium can lining and thermal receipts can make fat cells larger and predispose to store fat.

• Phthalates, found in personal care products and food packaging, can reprogramme protein metabolism in the body to store fat, regardless of our physical activity level or diet.

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• PFOS, found on non-stick cookware and water-resistant clothing, have been shown to mislead the body to store fat, even when external conditions indicate you should burn fat calories, such as in cold temperatures.

In adults who lost weight following a healthy diet with physical activity, higher PFOS levels were associated with more regain of weight later.

This review also emphasizes the importance of strategies to minimize exposure of obesogens at the individual level as well as policy-level interventions for governing bodies to improve health.

Improved regulations can reduce the substantial economic cost to society and minimized exposure for health benefits.

Source-Medindia