Indoor Pollution Can Create Obesity

New research on obesity has linked indoor pollutants to obesity in people. This information has coined a new term for environmental influences on obesity called ‘environmental obesogens’.

Environmental obesogens, the term described by Bruce Blumberg, a biologist and lead author of the study from the University of California, at Irvine, identifies common man made chemicals commonly found in plastics (baby bottles, plumbing, food packaging) that can have a physiological effect on the human body predisposing people to be heavy.

As peoples understanding of indoor pollution and its effects on their health increases, the importance of identifying the environmental factors that contribute to poor health is key.

Chemical company’s predisposition to synthesize chemicals at rapid rates is resulting in the production of thousands of chemicals present in our everyday lives that are harmful to us. Government and regulatory agencies are unable to test adequately the effects of each of these chemicals on humans, especially long term effects. The chemical identified as of most concern in the study is bisphenol A or BPA.

BPA’s are used in many plastic products used for cleaning, food packaging and liquid packaging. Any plastics used to bottle water, can foods or hold cleaning products result in exposures to humans.

Studies by the CDC found bisphenol A in 95% of adults sampled in 1988–1994 and in 93% of children and adults tested in 2003–04. Infants fed with liquid formula are among the most exposed, and those fed formula from polycarbonate bottles can consume large quantities of bisphenol A into their developing bodies.

Exposures to bisphenol A can cause effects in hormone functions and predispose people to obesity.

Measures are underway to try to remove this chemical from our society. Countries like Canada and Japan are eliminating the use of bisphenol A and there are measures you can take to eliminate your exposures. When using products that are contained in plastic, ensure the plastic is not labeled number 3 or 7 as they contain bisphenol A, the numbers are located at the base of the bottles. “Without labeling laws, the best consumers can do is to avoid polycarbonate-containing plastics, those stamped with the recycling number 3 or 7” (Popular Science March 2009).

Eliminating plastics with harmful chemicals is one part of a serious effort to remove harmful chemicals from our everyday lives. Eliminating the use of cleaning products with synthetic chemicals, choosing paints, furniture and carpeting with low or no synthetic chemical content, are other efforts that can reduce exposures to chemicals in home and work environments.

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