Obesity Is Chemical Bloat

Keywords: obesity, diabetes, microplastic, bpa, phthalate, diet, bloat, calories

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The portion of the population who are overweight, obese or morbidly obese continues to grow. Obesity rates have grown to well over half the population to the point that marketing companies have altered campaigns to be more inclusive of the largest market share of far larger people. Victoria's Secret and Calvin Klein ads now feature models that more realistically represent the average person: dramatically overweight and/or obese. Useless, but extremely profitable, fad diets, supplements, pills, injections, surgeries, and fat suckers obviously have had no impact on reducing the increasingly bloated population. Obesity is now the 'norm', anyone making any statements about how obesity is unhealthy is immediately labeled 'fat-phobic' and insulted for 'fat-shaming' or 'body-shaming'.

Currently, over 70% of adults are either overweight or obese, up from 13% in 1960. One in ten adults are morbidly obese as compared to fewer than 1% in 1960. Childhood obesity is also rising dramatically, rising from 5% in 1960 to 15% today. I agree that many people are overweight due to sedentary lifestyles and consuming too many calories. However, obesity is obviously adipose tissue dysfunction, since low calorie diets and increased exercise often have little to no impact on weight loss and can often cause the body to gain even more weight. Obesity is not an 'eating disorder' but 'adipose tissue dysfunction'. Obesity is a disease, such as cancer, diabetes, arthritis or fibromyalgia, which cannot be controlled simply by reducing calories and getting more exercise.

Adipose tissue is simply a fancy medical term for fat tissue. This tissue stores and releases energy for bodily functions from heart, lungs, brain, digestion, as well as energy for moving body parts. When someone has obesity, energy is not released from adipose tissue, so the body is constantly screaming for food. While reducing calories can have minimal impact on weight loss, it comes with a price: massive reduction of energy since the only energy the body can process is incoming, not the reserves stored in adipose tissue, or fat cells. Excess calories do continue to go to new fat cells, but that energy cannot be retrieved by the body. Excessive calorie restriction can result in damage to vital organs, since they cannot receive the energy necessary to function.

We have known for decades that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals increases the risk of developing obesity. Look up the term: OBESOGEN. This includes the chemicals found in common consumer goods that have been known to cause damage to the adipose tissue system for decades. In addition to increasing the stores of energy in fat cells, endocrine disrupting chemicals store themselves in fat cells. Drawing on fat cells for energy releases the stored poisons. This is the obvious reason why those with obesity also suffer from chronic inflammation, cancers, heart disease, liver disease and other diseases associated with exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

I picked three of the best known groups of endocrine disrupting chemicals for this article, there are others. These have been the most extensively studied for the longest period of time.

BISPHENOL ANALOGUES (BPA, BPAP, BPAF, BPB, BPBP, BPC, BPC2, BPE, BPF, BPG, BPM, BPS, BPP, BPPH, PBTMC, BPZ):
Bisphenols are used in hard plastics such as water and baby bottles, plastic pipes, cash register receipts, food can linings and even ground water supplies. The plasticizer leaches into food and liquids in the containers, especially when the containers are warmed. Testing shows that pretty much everyone has been exposed to bisphenols.

It has been known for a very long time that exposure to bisphenol A increases the risk of developing obesity. Many scientists have reviewed data and searched databases since the 1990's and the result is always the same: Increased exposure to bisphenol A shows a dose-dependent increase in the risk of developing obesity.

In the 1990's and early 2000's, bisphenol A was replaced with other bisphenol analogues such as bisphenol S and bisphenol F. They are basically the same thing, with a different name. Newer studies and reviews regarding increased risk of developing obesity is the same for the analogues as for bisphenol A. However, it appears as though those exposed to bisphenol S have an even greater risk of developing obesity.

In a study published in 2013, there was already enough research done to begin looking for patterns and risk of children developing obesity from exposure to bisphenol A. They found a dose-dependent increase, especially for white males. As time has gone on, the evidence that exposure to bisphenols increases the risk of developing obesity, including in children, continues to pile up.

PHTHALATE ANALOGUES (DEHP, DOP, DEP, DIDP, DINP, DBP):
Phthalates are a class of plasticizers used to make plastics flexible. Examples include vinyl flooring, flexible tubing such as garden hoses, water tubing and tubing for medical devices. Other plastics made with phthalates include children's toys, electronics, food packaging and storage containers and food storage bags. In addition, phthalates help bind fragrances in cosmetics, perfumes, room deodorants, scented candles as well as cleaning and body care products. As with the endocrine disruptor bisphenol and analogues, phthalates and their analogues have been shown by many studies to cause adipose tissue disorders, especially in males, when exposed to high concentrations during early childhood.

Serum and urine levels of phthalates continue to be consistent with higher concentrations of phthalate exposure and higher body mass. It seems the most consistent result is increased risk of developing obesity due to phthalate exposure is when exposure occurs in early childhood. However, there are very specific biologic processes affected by phthalate exposure that interfere with proper functioning of metabolism and energy storage and release from adipose tissue, more commonly known as fat.

PFOA, PFOS, PFAS:
PFOA, PFAS AND PFOS are only few of the analogues of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS). These chemicals are found in products that are waterproof, stain repellent and include clothing, carpeting, upholstery, vinyl rain gear, cosmetics, food packaging, non-stick cookware and even contaminated food and water.There are over 9,000 different PFAS's, yet testing only exists for less than 100 of them. PFAS are also endocrine disruptors associated with obesity and other negative health outcomes such as cardiovascular disease and type II diabetes. It is becoming more obvious that exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals, also known as OBESOGENS, found in common consumer goods such as plastics, fragrances, non-stick cookware, etc, and contaminated food, water and air at any point after conception dramatically increases the risk of developing obesity as well as other metabolic disorders.

My big question is: Why isn't this information being spread by the media or being discussed by doctors?

Probably because obesity-related medical care rakes in over $173 billion every year. The loss of profit for the health care system would be tragic if people were healthy.

It is far more profitable to use the media and compensated social media influencers to keep people blaming over-eating and gluttony for obesity, insulting the bloated victims of poisoning, while continuing to poison more people.

The best thing you can do if you are overweight or obese is to dramatically reduce exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. While this will be effective for many, it will not be effective for all. But by reducing your exposure, even if the weight doesn't come off, you are at least not increasing stored toxins. Do NOT try to lose weight too fast even after reducing your exposure to endocrine disrupting chemicals. The same chemicals have been stored in fat cells. Keep weight loss slow and steady to reduce additional poisoning of other vital organs.

RESOURCES:
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