Environmental Toxins: Fetal Exposure to Environmental Toxins Can Cause Obesity

Research from the University of Missouri suggests that fetal exposure to everyday chemicals can cause a person to become more at risk for obesity later in life. Frederick vom Saal, a professor of biological sciences at University of Missouri and leader of the research, says that when fetuses are exposed to certain chemicals, their DNA may be subjected to mutations that lead to an increased risk for obesity and disease.

Fetal Exposure to Common Chemicals Can Activate Obesity

vom Saal said that his research suggests that "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. 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." vom Saal tested the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol-A, on lab mice and observed the mice as they aged. Data showed that mice exposed to chemicals were obese throughout their lives.

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