(RightWing.org) – When people consider the reasons for weight gain, their attention usually turns to what they eat. After all, as 18th-Century French attorney and gourmet Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin once noted, people are what they eat. However, recent research indicated another factor could play a role in weight gain in modern times — plastic.
On January 26, the American Chemical Society published the results of a fascinating research project related to the impact of certain chemicals used in consumer products on adipogenesis — a fancy name for the development and accumulation of fat-laden cells in the human body. In other words, the study found a link between weight gain and certain chemicals contained in plastic products like food containers, bottles, and dish sponges.
Yay, our new study on plastic chemicals disrupting the metabolism is online @EnvSciTech! 1/3 of plastic products contain chemicals triggering fat cell differentiation, growth and fat accumulation. Thus, plastic chemicals might contribute to #obesity. 1/7https://t.co/hVgVWBsiOx
— Mⓐrtin Wⓐgner (@martiwag) January 26, 2022
A group of four researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and one from Germany’s Goethe University conducted a chemical analysis of 34 everyday plastic products. They “tentatively identified” hundreds of compounds, including 11 metabolism-disrupting chemicals (MDCs), agents that can alter a person’s digestive process.
As it turns out, those MDCs can leach out of the plastic products, and humans can absorb them. For instance, a person can take in those chemicals by drinking a carbonated beverage or using shampoo from plastic containers that contain MDCs. One can even assimilate MDCs by using a plastic dish sponge.
The resulting disruption in a person’s metabolism can result in significant weight gain, even obesity in extreme cases.
Obesity is a serious condition that can lead to a reduced quality of life, diabetes, heart disease, and other dangerous health conditions. Bottom line: While more research is needed, this study shows the need to develop safer alternatives to current everyday plastic items.
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