Most people have trouble losing weight. They resort to fad diets and calorie-counting with mixed results. It is likely that they have not increased activity and decreased stress. They may also have an unbalanced microbiome (see November 2021 newsletter), which compromises metabolism (how we handle calories) AND detoxification of chemicals that cause insulin resistance at the cellular level. They are ubiquitous in the environment. Try to eliminate them from our life for ALL health purposes, not just to lose weight.
Reference
Interventions needed to reduce exposure to obesity-promoting chemicals
Healio Minute, September 28, 2021
Exposure to three common endocrine-disrupting chemicals can increase the risk for obesity, and their elimination may improve public health while also producing economic benefits, according to a speaker.
Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, the Jim G. Hendrick Professor of Pediatrics, vice chair for pediatric and director of environmental pediatrics, and professor of environmental medicine and population health at the New York University School of Medicine, said exposure to chemicals that increase risk for obesity and cardiometabolic diseases with repeat exposure plays just as important of a role in the development of obesity as diet and physical activity. However, while diet and physical activity interventions can be difficult to maintain, Trasande said, people can take easy action steps to reduce exposure to these obesogens.
“We know that regulatory, as well as manufacturing changes, can induce substantial changes in exposure, that thereby reduce substantial levels detected in humans, thereby reducing potential disease burden associated with obesity and diabetes, as well as other conditions early in life that are linked to these chemicals,” Trasande said during a presentation at the European Society for Paediatric Endocrinology virtual meeting. “We know that the cost that can be traced to these exposures are substantial at a societal level, with the safer alternatives potentially producing health and economic benefits that outweigh the potential costs.”
Chemical exposure and childhood obesity
Studies have identified three types of endocrine-disrupting chemicals as obesogens:
- Bisphenols are commonly found in the lining of aluminum cans and thermal paper receipts.
- Phthalates are often found in shampoos, soaps, lotions, flooring and food wrap.
- Perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are found in nonstick cooking items, carpet and upholstery and microwave popcorn bags.
