Obesogens.
Forget refined carbs, television and even infant formula. Blame obes-o-gens.
We’re fat because of obesogens, the toxins that predispose rats and perhaps people to obesity. Researchers have been studying whether exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the womb or early in life pre-program children to pack on pounds. New York Times (human rights/global poverty) columnist Nicholas Kristof wrote about the link between obesity and endocrine disruptors this weekend, the latter he fears may be “the tobacco of our time.”
He might be right but I question if he’s presented an objective perspective. He cites some research like the Fat Rat Study from 2005 in addition to an article in Scientific American, the People magazine of the slightly dorky set. As some of you might recall, he’s taken some liberties with evidence in the past as I’ve written about in several posts. For better or worse he doesn’t try to present himself as a science writer:
Why should an op-ed columnist write about scholarship published in scientific journals? Don’t pundits have better things to fret about, like the feuding between Democrats and Republicans? Warnings From A Flabby Mouse, New York Times, Jan. 19, 2013
My thoughts exactly.
Please Mr. Kristof I want to keep admiring your other work so try to lay off the Scientific American. Maybe feature newer studies? Get an opinion from someone outside the Environmental Working Group and Friends.
The Fat Rat Study (it’s free!):Developmental exposure to estrogenic compounds and obesity. Retha R. Newbold*, Elizabeth Padilla-Banks, Ryan J. Snyder, Wendy N. Jefferson. Birth Defects Research (Part A) 73:478–480. Published online:15 JUN 2005
DOI: 10.1002/bdra.20147
Ha ha. Now I can keep eating the ice creama and blame my mother and the polluted environment and chemical plants.
Among the many other assorted ills you can pin on momma. Do keep eating ice cream. I'm all about nutella right now.