Fetal Exposure to Common Chemicals Can Activate Obesity
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007(Beyond Pesticides, Feb 21, 2007) Exposure to environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides while in the womb may make a person more prone to obesity later in life, new research indicates. Frederick vom Saal, Ph.D, professor of biological sciences at University of Missouri-Columbia’s College of Arts and Science, has found that when fetuses are exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals, the way their genes function may be altered to make them more prone to obesity and disease. Dr. vom Saal presented his research last week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Francisco. “Perinatal Programming of Obesity: Interaction of Nutrition and Environmental Exposures” is the title of Dr. vom Saal’s AAAS presentation. “Certain environmental substances called endocrine-disrupting chemicals can change the functioning of a fetus’s genes, altering a baby’s metabolic system and predisposing him or her to obesity,” said Dr. vom Saal. “This individual could eat the same thing and exercise the same amount as someone with a normal metabolic system, but he or she would become obese, while the other person remained thin,” he said. Obesity puts people at risk for other problems, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension. […]
