Speaking of being stuck in the wild… with a gut.
You’ve tried everything to lose weight – eating healthy, exercising more, managing stress better and getting enough sleep – but nothing seems to move the needle on the scale. Have you considered your chemical exposure?
Obesogens are endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) that sabotage weight loss efforts by altering the development of fat cells and disrupting energy balance.
These chemicals have fancy names like bisphenol A, phthalates and polybrominated diphenyl ethers – and unfortunately, they are everywhere.
“They’re in the water, they’re in the food, they’re at home,” Dr. Robert Lustig, a senior professor in the Department of Pediatrics and a member of the Institute for Health Policy Studies at UC San Francisco, told The Post.
Here’s everything you need to know about obesogens — including steps you can take to reduce exposure — to finally tip the scale in your favor.
How do obesogens work?
EDCs mimic, block or interfere with hormones that control growth, reproduction, metabolism and mood.
They are a growing problem because they are in everyday things – such as food packaging, cosmetics, clothes and cleaning products – so it is almost impossible to avoid them. You swallow them, inhale them or absorb them into your body.
“When endocrine disrupting chemicals change DNA, they are called mutagens,” Lustig said. If they differentiate or increase adipocytes, they are called obesogens.
Adipocytes are fat cells. Obesogens can increase the number and size of fat cells in the body and promote the storage of calories as fat instead of burning them for energy.
These scale shifters can also hijack hormonal regulation of metabolism, appetite and satiety.
How sure are we that these chemicals affect weight?
Lustig said the scientific evidence linking obesogens to obesity is “very strong.”
There is “clear causation” in animal studies, he added, although it is difficult to show causation in humans.
“Randomized controlled trials are impossible and would be illegal,” Lustig said, nodding to the ethical concerns of exposing people to substances suspected of causing long-term health damage.
“We have several historical studies that show that prenatal exposure to certain obesogens causes obesity in later life.”
Which obesogens are the most powerful?
“The chemicals that are the most potent obesogens are those that act like estrogens,” Lustig said.
“Many of these are pesticides because they disrupt the life cycle of insects,” he continued. Some include household ingredients such as vinyl flooring, plasticizers and flame retardants. And of course, the Big Kahuna – fructose, the sweet molecule in sugar.”
Obesogens include bisphenol A, which is found in plastic products and the lining of canned foods; phthalates in plastics, perfumes and personal care products; “permanent chemicals” in nonstick cookware, waterproof fabrics and food packaging; parabens in beauty products; and organotin compounds in pesticides and PVC pipe.
How can you best avoid obesogens?
Lustig recommends buying organic food to reduce exposure to insects, filtering water, staying away from highways and busy streets to reduce exposure to harmful air pollutants and eating less sugar.
