In 2007, a cell biologist by the name of Bruce Blumberg from the University of California, Irvine introduced a new word into our vocabulary.
It all started with a chemical called tributyltin. Used as a fungicide in paints to keep fungus from growing on various surfaces, Dr. Blumberg discovered tributyltin was making animals fat.
After uncovering more chemicals that appeared to stimulate fat-cell activity in both animals and humans, Dr. Blumberg introduced a new villain in our war against fat.
He called these fat-triggering chemicals “obesogens”… and the rest is history.
What exactly are Obesogens?
An obesogen is a chemical that increases fat storage, changes metabolic set points, and can even disrupt our ability to regulate our appetites.
There are many ways that obesogens can exert their effect and the jury is still out on their exact mechanism of action.
And although some chemicals have already been identified as obesogens, scientists predict that many more chemicals will be identified in the near future.1 This is alarming because it is difficult to stay away from something when you don’t know it is dangerous.
So far, scientists have uncovered quite a few chemicals we encounter in everyday life that do, in fact, appear to be obesogens.
Everyday Obesogens
We can encounter obesogens when we use plastic water bottles, nonstick pans, shower curtains, toys, and even shopping receipts.
You may have heard about Bisphenol-A (BPA) in the news. This chemical is commonly used in almost every plastic you can think of. Although you can find some sources of “BPA Free” water bottles and food storage containers, this alone will not prevent you from absorbing this obesogen.
That’s because, even with “BPA Free” products, there are plenty of other possible sources of exposure. For instance, BPA is contained in toys, canned goods, baby bottles, vinyl goods, medical equipment and a host of other everyday products. And research now suggests you can absorb BPA through the skin.2
- Although nicotine can help with appetite reduction, it also appears to be an obesogen. But in this case it is not the smoker who suffers from the weight gain, it is her children. There is a strong association between maternal smoking and childhood obesity.3
- I know it is extremely inconvenient to clean pans that don’t have a non-stick coating, but it appears the chemical used to create this modern day miracle, perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), is an obesogen.4 Furthermore, prenatal exposure can lead to adult obesity.5
Produce in our supermarkets looks healthy, but it turns out some of the pesticides used to create a greater yield are also obesogens. Some are short lived, but the real danger lies in what scientists call “persistent organic pollutants (POPS).”6 What this means is that these obesogens remain in your system long enough to cause long term weight issues.
In 2011 researchers found that the amount of serum POPS in a group of 71 obese people were two to three times higher than in a group of 18 lean people. What is more alarming is that after losing weight using bariatric surgery, the obese subject’s serum POPS levels increased… leading to possible liver toxicity.7
- A lot of people now rely on pharmaceutical drugs in order to alleviate depression. Common antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) appear to be obesogens.8 This is sad news as I know many people who have benefitted immensely from these compounds.
I want to be clear that this list is by no means exhaustive. As I was researching the subject, I came across a lot of other chemicals that show evidence of being obesogens… but I am trying to be very careful. This is relatively new information, and one has to be careful about sounding the alarm bells too early.
Staying clear of obesogens?
It is tempting to provide you some quick and easy ways to prevent or reverse exposure to obesogens, but at this point I do not feel comfortable enough with my grasp of this information. I am going to be talking to some endocrinologists and diving much deeper into the subject before doing anything of the sort.
Personally, I am going to do my best to stay away from the five I mentioned above. And as far as reversing the effects of obesogen exposure, I would be very skeptical of “detox” and “miracle cures” for the time being. There is little to no evidence of their effectiveness in reversing the effects of obesogens.
This is VERY important
I understand that when reading this, it might be easy to blame any weight problem you may have on obesogens. However, this would contradict reality. Thousands of studies support the fact that almost everybody can lose weight with proper diet, exercise and supplementation.
Although there may be exceptions, you can lose fat in spite of obesogen exposure. The obesogens might be making your job more difficult… which is all the more reason why you should change your diet for the better and get more exercise, to achieve and maintain a healthy weight and live a longer more vibrant life.
Based on what I know so far, the effects of overeating, lack of exercise, inflammation, stress, excess blood sugar, and hormonal imbalances are far more detrimental to your weight loss efforts than the existence of obesogen exposure… but I will get to the bottom of this.
Dr. Steven Sisskind, M.D.
1. Grün F, Blumberg B (May 2009).”Endocrine disrupters as obesogens”. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 304 (1-2): 19–29. doi:10.1016/j.mce.2009.02.018.
2. Zeratsky K (July 2010). “What are the health concerns about BPA?”. Mayo Clin Womens Healthsource 14 (7): 8. PMID 20517192.
3. Thayer KA, Heindel JJ, Bucher JR, Gallo MA (February 2012). “Role of Environmental Chemicals in Diabetes and Obesity: A National Toxicology Program Workshop Report”. Environ Health Perspect 120 (6): 779–89
4. White SS, Fenton SE, Hines EP (October 2011). “Endocrine disrupting properties of perfluorooctanoic acid”. J. Steroid Biochem. Mol. Biol. 127 (1-2): 16–26.
5. Hines EP, White SS, Stanko JP, Gibbs-Flournoy EA, Lau C, Fenton SE (May 2009). “Phenotypic dichotomy following developmental exposure to perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) in female CD-1 mice: Low doses induce elevated serum leptin and insulin, and overweight in mid-life”. Mol. Cell. Endocrinol. 304 (1-2): 97–105
6. Lind L, Lind PM (February 2012). “Can persistent organic pollutants and plastic-associated chemicals cause cardiovascular disease?”. J Intern Med 271 (6): 537–53.
7. At a Glance | 119(3) Mar 2011. Environ Health Perspect 119:a106-a109
8. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, United States National Institutes of Health (September 1998). “Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults–The Evidence Report. National Institutes of Health”. Obes. Res. 6 Suppl 2: 51S–209S.
RealMeal GF™
Super Critical Omega-3 TG ™
RealReds™
Thank you for your article on obesogenes.In the future I’ll try to avoid them as much as possible and I especially want to thank you for your observations about the right diet to which I pay attention myself but it is always enormously helpful when an expert draws your attention to it. I’ll be looking forward to any new article from you and in the meantime I want to send you my very best regards and thanks
Sincerely Katarina Dadic Anokic
Hi Katrina – Thanks for the kind words. Best of luck in the future!
THANK YOU Dr. Sisskind for bringing this issue to wider view! I have blogged about the estrogenic effect of pesticides and other chemicals found in pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, certain petrochemicals in air and water pollution, household cleaners, plastics, solvents, cosmetics and body care products. But your article about “obesogens” brings a broader perspective on this issue. A person who wants to be optimally healthy needs to build up their body and avoid toxins. It is NOT an easy job. But it IS rewarding to see how our bodies still respond and heal!
I can’t speak my mind because I was told I was mindless.
I can’t speak from my heart because I’ve been told I’m heartless.
I can’t speak at all because “the cat got my tongue.”
Yes, these chemicals do affect us as do all the electro-magnetic pulses, photons, planets, phone, computers etc. etc. Our brains are evolving, but our bodies are still in 1900. So, psychologically most eat to be full and few ever know true hunger because the brain stimulates the stomach to take in more. Over-eating is a psychological condition that unfortunately encourages people to go to the ready-made products, medications etc. We live in a convenient inconvenient world.
Hi Dr – Interesting thoughts indeed. I think there are so many reasons which cause us to eat more than we do, psychological ones included. We are quick to assume that our obesity epidemic is related to a single reason or just one harmful food, but in reality there is a vast milieu of issues causing people to be overweight. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the info. I really appreciate someone who is careful and uses common sense when new discoveries are made. Thank you, and keep up the good work.
Thank you for your article. I just wanted to point out something in your closing. You state that almost everybody can lose weight with proper diet, exercise, and supplementation. I don’t know if you have seen the overwhelming research about weight loss and the morbidly obese. About 30% of the US population is obese. Unfortunately studies show that any form of weight loss, other than a surgical option, has around a 5-7% chance of success in the morbidly obese. With issues such as insulin resistance, metabolic syndrome, and many other factors affecting the body your chances are slim to lose weight they way we currently look at the problem. I point this out since it is incredibly hurtful to have people constantly telling you that if you just eat less and move more you can shed the weight. I do thank you for pointing out some of the things that disrupt our systems to create and obesogenic environment. I like that you are interested in research, I am hoping we can find ways to increase chances of weight loss success! Another thing I found interesting is the discovery of obesogenic viruses.
Hi Bonnie – Thank you for commenting, as this is an interesting stance on obesity. I think it is important to clarify that studies looking at morbidly obese and their results from lifestyle changes which have a 5-7% success rate, also typically have less than a 10% retention rate. In other words, changes in eating, exercise and other variables are effective, but not always well suited for morbidly obese patients. This is due to a number of reasons, but most commonly because morbid obesity is a relatively new health problem for our population which has mostly presented within this last generation and proper treatments through counseling, dietary management and exercise education are still not available to many people in correct and affordable forms.
Furthermore, if dietary change was some how not effective in morbidly obese patients, what is the difference between bariatric surgery and diet changes? Bariatric surgery is simply a way to ensure compliance with a healthy diet (surgery patients can only eat so much). Not to mention, the success of bariatric surgery largely depends on post surgical compliance to recommendations of dietary change, exercise and psychosocial counseling.
Now, I definitely agree that there are many factors beyond people’s control in today’s environments. Things like heavy processing of food, chemicals present in the diet, seldom activity in society’s culture… The key to someone’s weight loss is really about finding what works best for them and exploring why their changes are important to their life.
i disagree with you. i had a weight problem not solved by diet and exercise and by diet i mean 2 yrs as a vegetarian etc. i consulted a dietitian and read books, took supplements, etc. i decided to get really serious about the weight and go the route of eliminating food items until i figured out what the problem was. it turned out it was the chemicals in the food. i went organic and guess what? i could eat whatever i wanted. i did not have to diet or exercise. the really scary part was watching my grey hair turn back to brown (not from dying it but by detoxing) and all my skin blemishes disappeared. i immediately looked 15 yrs younger in the face too. i was so toxic my body rebelled and aged. once the chemicals were eliminated…… i was down in the 120s weight wise and still loosing (at 21 i was 105, tall and lean). i would have no trouble getting to that weight i am sure if i wanted to be that thin again.
know it is a dedication to a way of life, it requires planning and discipline to not buy off the shelf products in a typical grocery. the food is more expensive but also more filling and taste real. most healthy supermarkets have organic deli, salad bar, and pre-made meals. i also purchased better water directed from a water dispensary. it was cheaper than bottled and had no chemicals. i use this water in cooking and in making anything i consumer that required water. purchasing organic spices, oils, condiments, etc. it worked for me when nothing else did.
i lost about 25lbs in 2 months without trying.
do not knock it until you try it.
as a side note something i always think about is something someone else said. there were not fat people in p.o.w. camps. if you eat less you will loose weight. in our society, you can eat less and not loose weight… that is why so many fail. you have to consume the right foods only. organics worked for me, when nothing else did.
thanks for reading
I drink a lot of water from plastic bottles, sobe life water, because it has no artificial sweeteners and rent 5 gallon jugs from ice mountain that come in plastic containers, after reading the article on obsenogens this is concerning. How do you suggest one gets there water intake? I avoid tap water because of all the chemicals.
Tammy
Hi Tammy, Thanks for commenting. People concerned about water quality can focus on getting their hydration from sources that have been cleaned with reverse-osmosis to filter pollutants. Using a glass water bottle is a great way to avoid harmful chemicals in the plastic like BPA. For the plastic containers, look for harder sources of plastic, make sure they never get hot, and avoid washing them with heavy soaps. Last, make sure they are BPA free and don’t have a “foggy” appearance, which would indicate the plastic is being broken down. Good luck!
Dr. Sisskind, I believe you haven’t used spell/grammar check before posting these answers, as I have seen several miscrepancies (such as ‘they’re’ when correct spelling is ‘their’, directly above). You yourself, and the product you are trying to market, would be much more credible and believable if you came across as being somewhat LITERATE! Please be mindful in the future…(btw, who wrote your medical theses for you??)
Hi Max, I wrote my thesis with the help of spell check! Thanks for the heads up!
It is well-known that taking the new class of anti-depressants known as SSRIs can cause some weight gain. If your physician or other health care provider believes these medications are a good choice for you, you should discuss the weight gain issue with them.
Overcoming depression is life-changing and is an important step to living a more healthy life. Most health care providers advise that their patients taking SSRIs engage in increased physical activity. This can easily off-set the chance of weight gain and will also produce endorphin’s, another chemical which contributes to a sense of well-being.
Hi Lisa – This is a great point that I would like to add to! In addition to exercise helping with the weight gain effect of SSRI’s, many research centers around the country are also looking into exercise as a treatment for depression. There is a lot of research showing how this can be very effective for some people. Good point to remember for anyone suffering from this silent condition!
I am a diebetic. I do my exercises and very careful of my diet. I daily watch my weight. If it is gone up some how I manage to get it down. Last December my weight was 80.5 Kg and now it is 76Kg. I have a small problem. As I am a diebetic this weight loss is harmfull. My debetic level is 7.5
Thanks Sandra
Hi Sandra,
Thank you so much for taking a moment and sharing. RealDose Weight Loss Formula No. 1 is caffeine-free and made without harsh stimulants, which is unique in the dietary supplement industry. We formulated RealDose to be safe, non-addictive, and without side effects. We are not aware of any potential food or supplement interactions. We’ve taken great care to formulate RealDose Weight Loss Formula so it will not interfere with most medications, including those for the treatment of diabetes, cholesterol, thyroid, and high blood pressure. However, if you have a medical condition or a concern about a potential interaction with RealDose Weight Loss Formula ingredients and the medications you are taking you should always consult with your physician. If you have any other concerns about side effects, interactions or safety or RealDose Weight Loss Formula No. 1, please let us know.