Obesogens: Why Traditional Dieting May Not Stop Obesity

Weight gain may not simply be just about how many calories you eat versus how many calories you burn up, despite what many people think.

A White House Task Force released a report on May 11 saying there is a class of chemicals that may be making Americans fat:  endocrine disrupting chemicals, or EDCs. You can read the full government report here: http://www.aap.org/obesity/pdf/tfco_fullreport_may2010.pdf

Scientists are calling the chemicals “obesogens” because of the way they “may promote weight gain and obesity.”

In the human body, the endocrine system and its hormones are crucial for regulating systems that control body weight, such as metabolism.

Because obesogens disrupt the endocrine system, they also disrupt these important weight-controlling functions.

This means that even if you make corrections in your diet to lose weight, you will be unable to completely control your weight if you remain exposed to these harmful chemicals.

Nine of the ten most commonly used pesticides are obesity-promoting chemicals, according to this article on Yahoo! Shine, so eating healthy foods like fruits and vegetables may actually work against your efforts to lose weight if they contain obesogens.

How to reduce your exposure to obesogens
One of the best ways is to eat organic–but most importantly, to avoid products that contain the most pesticides.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) identified 12 fruits and vegetables that account for about 80 percent of peoples’ exposure to pesticides: celery, peaches, strawberries, apples, blueberries (domestic), nectarines, sweet bell peppers, spinach, kale/collard greens, cherries, potatoes and grapes (imported).

If you do choose to purchase these fruits and vegetables, buying organic versions will help you reduce your exposure to harmful obesity-promoting chemicals.

The EWG also identified 15 fruits and vegetables that contain very low levels of pesticides: onions, avocado, sweet corn (frozen), pineapples, mango, sweet peas (frozen), asparagus, kiwi fruit, cabbage, eggplant, cantaloupe (domestic), watermelon, grapefruit, sweet potatoes and honeydew melon.

Selecting these foods instead of those containing higher levels of pesticides can also help reduce your obesogen exposure while not necessarily requiring you to buy expensive organic versions.

Another way you can avoid obesogens is by reducing plastics and canned food from your diet.

For example, many plastics used to package food at supermarkets contain synthetic compounds like BPA that resemble estrogen, a hormone in the human body that stores fat and reduces muscle.

Avoid heating food in plastic containers or heating sports water bottles. Heat can cause damage to the plastic and make it leak the chemicals into food and drinks.

Also, avoid fatty meats. Conventional meat may have higher levels of chemicals stored in the fat, so if you’re at the supermarket and planning to buy conventional meat, buy leaner cuts.

Finally, filter your drinking water with an activated carbon water filter, which will remove most pesticides and industrial pollutants.