FWIW, I've confirmed that to be the strucure of BISPHENOL-A in my organic chemistry book, Morrison & Boyd's.
Posted on 03/05/2007 5:46:55 PM PST by neverdem
Obesity is generally discussed in terms of caloric intake (how much a person eats) and energy output (how much a person exercises). However, according to a University of Missouri-Columbia scientist, environmental chemicals found in everyday plastics and pesticides also may influence obesity. Frederick vom Saal, professor of biological sciences in MU's College of Arts and Science, has found that when fetuses are exposed to these chemicals, the way their genes function may be altered to make them more prone to obesity and disease.
"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. This is a serious problem because obesity puts people at risk for other problems, including cancer, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension," vom Saal said.
Using lab mice, vom Saal has studied the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals, including bisphenol-A, which recently made news in San Francisco, where controversy has ensued over an ordinance that seeks to ban its use in children's products. In vom Saal's recent study, which he will present at the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), he found that endocrine-disrupting chemicals cause mice to be born at very low birth weights and then gain abnormally large amounts of weight in a short period of time, more than doubling their body weight in just seven days. Vom Saal followed the mice as they got older and found that these mice were obese throughout their lives. He said studies of low-birth-weight children have shown a similar overcompensation after birth, resulting in lifelong obesity.
"The babies are born with a low body weight and a metabolic system that's been programmed for starvation. This is called a 'thrifty phenotype,' a system designed to maximize the use of all food taken into the body. The problem comes when the baby isn't born into a world of starvation, but into a world of fast food restaurants and fatty foods," vom Saal said.
More research must be done to determine which chemicals cause this effect. According to vom Saal, there are approximately 55,000 manmade chemicals in the world, and 1,000 of those might fall into the category of endocrine disrupting. These chemicals are found in common products, from plastic bottles and containers to pesticides and electronics.
"You inherit genes, but how those genes develop during your very early life also plays an important role in your propensity for obesity and disease. People who have abnormal metabolic systems have to live extremely different lifestyles in order to not be obese because their systems are malfunctioning," vom Saal said. "We need to figure out what we can do to understand and prevent this."
"Perinatal Programming of Obesity: Interaction of Nutrition and Environmental Exposures" is the title of vom Saal's AAAS presentation. Also presenting with vom Saal at the AAAS symposium are Reth Newbold of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Bruce Blumberg of the University of California-Irvine, George Corcoran of Wayne State University and James O'Callaghan of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by University of Missouri-Columbia.
I was looking for "Perinatal Programming of Obesity: Interaction of Nutrition and Environmental Exposures," when I found this from Frederick S. vom Saal and his co-author. Check this out. I'm saving it.
They have gotten us to fill our environment with chemicals that help to fatten us up for the slaughter.
Global Warming is just a way to slow cook us for extra flavor!
/sarcasm
See DNA Methylation
Oh horse crap!
That would be the Wraith.
People need to stop making excuses for disgusting eating habits and a dearth of exercise.
"To Serve Man":
http://www.pistolwimp.com/media/50801/
I think something is causing all these kids to be obese. And it IS more than just eating. Many of them eat diets that are moderate and still can't lose the weight. You can say its a generational thing, but when I was a kid, I ate tons of sugary crap and stayed rail thin.
I think the super-intelligent space aliens have finally created the ultimate combo:
Double-western-bacon-cheeseburger, large fries, large coke, and a four-hour session of Halo II.
The anti-intellectual faction of FR struck again. It didn't take long for the folks (who obviously know better) to proclaim that this study is a farce. Thank you for your post (despite them).
One assumes that they think that the University had an ulterior motive for publishing their findings and that the results weren't put to scrutiny. They must have been paid by the Twinkie Lobby...
Oil for the deep fryer?
Yep... out with the Huffy in with the XBox.
Not to mention the fact that Mom is too busy to cook a healthy sit down dinner or send junior to school with a sensible home made lunch.
That's my favorite episode.
The research on this subject is mixed. There's a collection of studies that say there are problems with this stuff and an equal number that disagree. You can guess which ones the plastics industry cites. Bisphenol-A even has it's own 'we love this stuff' website.
I wonder about the use of the sucrose as a cheap replacement for regular sugar.
Then there is the insane ubiquitous carbonation of EVERYTHING. Do people even drink water any more?
Just anecdotally, all the fat kids I know have fat parents. And since I live in a small town I can say that that has been the case for as many as 4 generations.
Quickly now, name the 19 classes of organic compounds.
Yeah, when I was a kid, my pediatrician kept telling me over and over to stop eating, get exercise and I'd lose weight. None of it worked. She was a broken record. I finally got a real diagnosis. Hypothyroidism via Hashimoto Thyroiditis.
I was then informed that the exercise I was doing was hurting me more than doing me good by straining my heart.
http://www.umm.edu/endocrin/hashim.htm
When you have NO natural metabolism, there is no amount of exercise or diet that will level your weight.
That is not to say that every single kid out there has an endocrine problem, but I know there are exceptions.
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