Since 1980 the childhood obesity rates for children between the ages of two to nineteen have tripled. For middle-aged-kids, ages six to eleven, this rate has doubled and the teen obesity rate has quadrupled. We have an obesity epidemic in this country. This has nothing to do with genetics; the American populace has the same genetic base it had back in 1980. If we were comparing exercise levels those back in the 40’s or 50’s, we might point to the fact that kids are on the computer, but there was the same concern about the amount of time kids were sitting in front of the TV back in the 80’s. Thus the difference in the amount of exercise is not the cause of the epidemic. Something else is causing our population to get fatter and fatter at earlier and earlier ages.
I have written in previous newsletters about the metabolically devastating effects of sugar and the direct correlation of the rise in obesity with the use of sugar in our diet since 1900. This is a real and a serious concern, but it does not explain the more recent jump since the 80’s and the shift towards obesity at younger and younger ages. Sugar destroys you slowly over decades. Something else is at work here. That something is most likely a class of substances called obesogens.
Obesogens are chemicals that screw up how our body metabolizes and stores fat. Most of them work by mimicking certain hormones in our body and throwing our hormone balance out of kilter. Some simply create inflammation in our fat cells and others mess up our gut microbiome in ways that pushes us to gain weight.
We live in a chemical soup in this country. Since 1994 over 10,000 new chemicals have been created and introduced into our foods, clothing, furniture, cleaning products, and so on, and most of them have never been tested for safety. Our chemical safety laws have been effectively neutralized for a long time. The EPA is powerless to restrict even known toxic chemicals like lead and formaldehyde. Only 12 chemicals have been tested and restricted since 1994 by the EPA.
Because of the lack of testing, the list of known obesogens I am about to give you is very incomplete simply because we don’t know the effects of most of the chemicals entering our environment. The following list is of known obesity causing chemicals we are exposed to every day.
Pesticides – especially Atrazine and DDE – are known to cause weight gain in children and insulin resistance in rats. Since they are used in agriculture, they frequently end up in our tap water.
BPA is a chemical added to plastic to make it flexible. It is a known endocrine disruptor that has been avoided in recent years in our canned foods and plastic bottles. Unfortunately the replacement chemicals being used appear to be even worse. BPA is still common on most cash register receipts and it can enter the body through the skin.
Phthalates is a known carcinogen that has also been linked to belly fat gain and thyroid disruption. It is commonly found in plastics, vinyl, toys, cosmetics, paint, air fresheners, and personal care products.
PFOA, more commonly known as Teflon, it is also found in Gore-Tex, food packaging, carpets, backpacks, and clothing. Exposure during pregnancy is linked to weight gain in daughters. When it is heated above 446 degrees F, it gives off a toxic nerve gas. I have a patient whose pet birds died because their Teflon fry pan got too hot.
Tributyltin is used as a fungicide and bactericide in paints and vinyl and as a preservative in wood, textile, and carpets. This is another endocrine disruptor that promotes obesity.
PDBEs is a flame-retardant that is found everywhere: beds, clothing, carpets, furniture, etc.
Antibiotics. These mess up your healthy gut biome, which in turn can trigger weight gain. We get exposed to these regularly by eating meats, poultry, and fish treated with them while they are raised.
Artificial Sweeteners such as Aspartame, Sucralose, Ace-K, and so on have been shown to raise insulin levels just like sugar does. Fortunately stevia has not been found to do this.
Artificial Food Colorings bind to the proteins in food and prevent them from properly being digested. This leaves them available for breakdown by types of bacteria in our guts that promote inflammation and result in belly fat gain.
High Fructose Corn Syrup is actually fructose from any source like sugar and agave syrup. Even excess fruit will cause fatty liver disease and excess body fat.
As I said earlier this list could go on and on, but most of the chemicals we are exposed to every day have never even been tested for these concerns. The bottom line is that we need to minimize our exposure to these kinds of toxic chemicals. The problem is we invite them into our life because they offer us convenience in exchange for slowly deteriorating health. They offer us more manageable hair and stain proof carpets and clothes that are wrinkle free. In exchange we get fat, inflamed, and your choice of heart disease, cancer, or Alzheimer’s disease.
I suggest a gradual lifestyle change towards a cleaner, healthier life without all the chemicals for better living. I have been on this journey for some time making little changes one at a time. I started by eliminating any plastic food containers at home – glass only now. I started making my own personal care products. My most recent creation is a natural toothpaste that actually strengthens the teeth much better than fluoride. I try to wear natural fibers and don’t use fabric softeners or dryer sheets. I use vinegar to clean the floors and windows and natural Castile soap as the base for my shampoo. I generally shop organic and buy only fresh foods. On the down side, I still have some carpet in the house and I am sure my bed has fire retardants in it. Detoxifying is a process that takes time.
In addition to cleaning up my environment, I also expend a lot of effort supporting my body’s ability to break down and excrete the poisons I do get exposed to. This is achieved through supporting my liver’s detoxification pathways and trapping the poisons in the gut with fibers to be carried away.
Eliminating obesogens may be the missing key to many peoples difficulty with weight loss. Obesogens deregulate your ability to burn off any excess calories you don’t need and stimulate your fat cells to both multiply and grow bigger. They can completely stop you from losing weight no matter how hard you diet. Unfortunately weight gain is the canary in the coal mine warning you of a nasty host of diseases right around the corner.