http://www.care2.com/greenliving/chemicals-in-plastics-linked-to-childhood-obesity.html
Chemicals in Plastics Linked to Childhood Obesity
By Jennifer Lance, Eco Child’s Play
Yes, we hate plastics! Not only is this evil material bad for our environment, over and over again the news reports the negative effects of plastic chemicals on our children’s health. From BPA to phthalates, plastics are to blame for a slew of health problems.
Now, a long term study of girls living in Harlem has linked exposure to the chemicals in plastics to childhood obesity.
Yes, plastics make kids fat, well at least there is a correlation.
Researchers at Mount Sinai Medical Center discovered that when phthalates are absorbed into the body and act as endocrine disruptors, obesity levels rise in mice. The East Harlem study is the first one to link endocrine disruptors to human obesity. Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a professor of pediatrics at Mount Sinai, explains:
The heaviest girls have the highest levels of phthalates metabolites in their urine. It goes up as the children get heavier, but it’s most evident in the heaviest kids. When we say children, I’m talking about kindergarten children, we are talking about little kids. This is a problem that begins early in life.
“Growing Up Healthy in East Harlem” has been studying over last 10 years children’s health factors, including pesticides, diet, and proximity to bodegas. 40% of children living in Harlem are overweight or obese, and the study found the levels of phthalates measured in children are significantly higher than the average levels reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for children across the entire United States.
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23 comments
add your comment »As someone who is a fat (or "obese") adult and who was a somewhat fat kid I really take issue with some of the comments that claim fat kids are fat because their parents' don't feed them properly/ raise them on a diet of fast food. I was lucky enough to be raised by two wonderful parents. And despite what is claimed here I was not "allowed to eat constantly" nor did I see a fastfood restaurant from the inside at any time during my childhood (in fact, I don't eat a lot of junk food now either). Comments that claim fat kids are only fat because their parents overfeed them are not just misinformed - they show of their writers' prejudices. In fact, no matter what you choose to believe, there is strong evidence that body weight has a very strong genetic component. Still, while there have always been fat - even very fat - people this does not explain why we do weigh more on average today than we did a few decades ago. Factors like increased exposure to phtalates and other environmental changes might explain part of that difference in average weight. Another factor I would also like to be investigated in this context is repeated dieting (as in intentional weight loss, not just crash dieting). Intentionally lost weight has been shown over and over again to be almost impossible to keep of for the vast majority of people, and about 30% of people gain more back than they initially lost.
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Yes, plastics make kids fat, well at least there is a correlation.
i am so dam tired of hearing people looking for blame for their own problems. when will this country learn to take credit for their own problems?
i will give some(small ) credit for plastics playing a rol in obese children. But,comeon now, the true problem with overweight children rests squarely on the parent's backs and we all know this to be true.
Parents all know how much food is good for their kids , but are either too busy to or too dam uncaring to take the effort to control the child's eating habits. I raised 4 children. None of these children were allowed to eat constantly , and all were required to eat proplrly. As a reward for my efforts, none of my kids were ever over weight.They were rarely allowed sweets, and instead were given fruits ,when snacks were allowed.
If more parents would take responsibility , obesity would not be half the problem it is today.
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thanks...
Kabin
Konteyner
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If the phthalate levels are higher in the heaviest children, doesn't that mean that they drink or eat more things that come out of plastic containers or are they eating the same amount as the skinny kids, it's just that their plastic container had astronomical levels of this chemical.
Please get real, the more food you shove down a childs mouth, the fatter it will get. Alot of junk food comes in plastic, so it would make sense that the fatter kids are eating more junk food, therefore have more phthalates in their system. Can you really blame this on the plastic?
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Many things that are in food products and drinks are also in plastic. This is soaking through the sink and through our mouths. As far as obesity coming from soda's yes, But once again the same thing that is in plastic is in soda's. Please people read what it happening to our country. Other countries have ban this use, except for the US and now we have a major problem. Almost everything is being effected.
Check out this things...Google it msg and Aspartame...Make sure not to mix with aspertame that was ban years ago and then aspartame was approved. MSG and Aspartame use many hidden names and are what make up products that are in the products...Chain Reaction. So everything that is made that show as ingredients need to be traced too.
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Nana is correct. There are Human studies that show that high concentrations of BPAs in baby girls causes them to start menstruating between ages 2-5. BPA concentrations in adult women cause egg production abnormalities. I'm a victim of that one! I'm no where near menopause but I'm not making eggs due to BPA's in my system from plastics. I can't make a baby.
Luckily, the vendors who supply most of the "educational" and "promotional" plastic water bottles are now starting to advertise aluminum and steel water bottles. I don't know when/if the norm will change to these.
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We've recently heard about the link between plastics and diabetes in the UK. Why aren't more of us lobbying the food and packaging industries for safer, greener alternatives?
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We've also heard a lot recently in the UK about the links with diabetes and/or cancer to plastics. Why aren't more of us lobbying the food and packaging industries for safer and greener alternatives?
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Ohhhh sorry, had trouble logging on!
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We've also heard a lot recently in the UK about the links with diabetes and/or cancer to plastics. Why aren't more of us lobbying the food and packaging industries for safer and greener alternatives?
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