Children's Health Defense By Pamela Ferdinand
Chemicals from plastics to pesticides may worsen the body’s stress response in ways that cause excessive weight gain, according to what researchers say is the first systematic review to investigate the link between pollution, stress and obesity.
Obesity is a risk factor for chronic conditions such as depression, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer, and is one of the leading causes of death worldwide.
The findings, published this month (Jan. 17) in Obesity Reviews, suggests that pollution, stress and weight gain reinforce each other in negative ways, creating a cycle that makes obesity more likely. The associations, however, depend on sex, age and pollutant type, among other factors.
Researchers focused on 42 studies — with 8,500 human and nearly 3,200 animal subjects — that investigated the effect of a range of pollutants on fat cell growth (adiposity) in humans, animals and cells, as well as how the body and mind respond to stress.
Pollutants included:
- Chemical preservatives like parabens.
- Halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons, such as flame retardants.
- Heavy metals such as cadmium, nickel, mercury and lead.
- Pesticides, including the herbicides glyphosate and atrazine.
- Plastics (phthalates).
“We provide evidence that in most articles, pollution is responsible for stress-response disruption and results in weight gain,” the researchers say…
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