Obesogens Research Paper
Obesogens
An Environmental Contributor to Obesity?
The common suggestion to combat obesity is to eat fewer calories and exercise more. Although this approach works for some people, for those who struggle with weight loss this strategy doesn’t always work. There are environmental factors influencing weight loss that go beyond the calories consumed versus calories burned model. In the past few decades there’s been substantial research on chemical endocrine disruptors, some of which are termed “obesogens”, and there’s a link between consumption of these chemicals and susceptibility to weight gain. With the United States struggling with weight loss, it’s time for health care practitioners to look beyond the calorie model and consider how obesogens …show more content…
Research has been done on human and animals cells. In one study on human and mice cells, Valerie Brown exposed stem cells (cells that can develop into various tissue types in the body) to a fungicide used on food and crops. The results showed “that [fat] accumulation and expression of obesity-related genes increased in treated cells [of] both species” (474). In the 2012 Environmental Health Perspectives article, “Obesogens: An Environmental Link to Obesity”, Wendee Holtcamp points out research by Welshons et al in that low exposures of the obesogen, BPA, “[e]ffected rodent fat cells at very low doses, 1,000 times below the dose that regulatory agencies presume causes no effect in humans” (66). In addition, Tributyltin (TBT) exposure has been shown to increase fat cell size and quantity. TBT (used in pesticides and to manufacture plastics) causes “stem cells to show an increased commitment to becoming [fat cells] at the expense of… bone [cells]” (65), adds Bruce Blumberg, a biology professor at the University of California in Irvine. These Obesogens are disrupting gene expression leading to easy fat
An Environmental Contributor to Obesity?
The common suggestion to combat obesity is to eat fewer calories and exercise more. Although this approach works for some people, for those who struggle with weight loss this strategy doesn’t always work. There are environmental factors influencing weight loss that go beyond the calories consumed versus calories burned model. In the past few decades there’s been substantial research on chemical endocrine disruptors, some of which are termed “obesogens”, and there’s a link between consumption of these chemicals and susceptibility to weight gain. With the United States struggling with weight loss, it’s time for health care practitioners to look beyond the calorie model and consider how obesogens …show more content…
Research has been done on human and animals cells. In one study on human and mice cells, Valerie Brown exposed stem cells (cells that can develop into various tissue types in the body) to a fungicide used on food and crops. The results showed “that [fat] accumulation and expression of obesity-related genes increased in treated cells [of] both species” (474). In the 2012 Environmental Health Perspectives article, “Obesogens: An Environmental Link to Obesity”, Wendee Holtcamp points out research by Welshons et al in that low exposures of the obesogen, BPA, “[e]ffected rodent fat cells at very low doses, 1,000 times below the dose that regulatory agencies presume causes no effect in humans” (66). In addition, Tributyltin (TBT) exposure has been shown to increase fat cell size and quantity. TBT (used in pesticides and to manufacture plastics) causes “stem cells to show an increased commitment to becoming [fat cells] at the expense of… bone [cells]” (65), adds Bruce Blumberg, a biology professor at the University of California in Irvine. These Obesogens are disrupting gene expression leading to easy fat