Have you ever stopped to consider why wild animals in your everyday life – squirrels, deer, or even birds – how often do you notice any of them overweight? Odds are never. Especially if it’s not cows, pigs, or chickens being pumped full of steroids and antibiotics! That’s because these creatures contain an internal mechanism that allows them to know to stop eating. So do we, but ours isn’t functioning so well, as demonstrated by the worldwide obesity epidemic.
Recent research indicates that one significant factor driving this epidemic is simply the surge of environmental toxins in our bodies. “The old belief was that obesity was caused by overeating and exercising too little. “It’s not true because all of God’s creatures on earth, including US, eat when we’re hungry and stop when we’re full. Every cell in the human body and animals knows if you have enough food. Obviously, something has disrupted our bodies’ normal processing mechanism of shedding fat” In May of 2022, over 41 scientists released 3 review papers published in the journal Biochemical Pharmacology. The reports quoted over 1,000 studies that found proof of ‘obesogenic effects’ from toxic chemicals found in our water supply, the air we breathe, personal hygiene products, food packaging, household cleaners, furniture, and yes, even electronic frequencies.
Obesogens are chemicals that boost obesity by interfering with our metabolism and hormones. Some of the most harmful offenders are BPA (Bisphenol A), an industrial chemical utilized to make plastics and resins, and phthalates, which are utilized to create plastic more durable and can be found in thousands of products from vinyl flooring to shampoo. Obesogens are endocrine disruptors that decrease or increase normal hormone levels, mimicking the body’s natural hormones and actually altering the production of hormones. I believe that obesogens directly affect the number and size of fat cells, altering the alerts that make us feel full, changing thyroid function and the dopamine reward system, affecting the gut microbiome, and causing weight gain.
The research also shows the changes in the body’s primary metabolic rate (BMR), which controls how many calories our bodies need to fulfill it’s basic functions. At the University of California, Professor Robert Lustig is one of the lead authors, and it turns out chemicals tossed in our environment have these side effects that cause our cells to do crazy things that are not normal and wouldn’t otherwise have done. And YES, one of those things is laying down fat that has caused Skyrocketing Obesity, and I would even venture to say our current out of control Diabetes Rates. Think about it just as little as 100 years ago, the average weight for an American man was 140 Lbs, and for women, the average was 112 Lbs. Today the average American adult weighs over 181 pounds. The WHO declares the number of people who are obese, and overweight has reached epidemic proportions at nearly 63% of adults and 35% of children.
Obesity and being overweight are among the leading causes of death and are responsible for more than one million deaths yearly. Health Impacts of Obesity also significantly increase the risk factor of numerous diseases, including the most recent effects of COVID-19. It is the #1 factor in disability and dramatically elevates the likelihood of heart disease, stroke, respiratory conditions, fatty liver disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, and cancer. Children are especially vulnerable to obesogens in the earlier stages of their development. Mothers exposed to environmental toxins can no-deliberately pass on to their children an ongoing struggle with obesity.
It was also discovered that a handful of chemicals can cause transgenerational obesity, producing inheritable gene expression changes. One study I found shocking uncovered that granddaughters of women exposed to DDT had a level of obesity that correlated with that exposure, even though the granddaughters had never been personally exposed to the pesticide, which was banned in 1972. Bottomline “We all need to know that these effects are happening and real because it affects not just us adults but our unborn kids. And if we don’t take action now, this problem’ is going to affect generation after generation until we stop it.”
Stay Healthy and Stay Strong.
Sources in This Article Include:
“In Kenya and Across Africa, an Unexpected Epidemic: Obesity” by Jeffrey Gettleman, January 27, 2018, The New York Times
“Environmental Toxins are Worsening Obesity Pandemic, Say Scientists” by Damian Carrington, May 22, 2022, The Guardian
“Obesity Levels in Europe at ‘Epidemic Proportions'” May 3, 2022, The Associated Press
“What are Obesogens, and Should We Be Concerned?” by Ariane Lang, February 11,2022, Healthline
