Blaming Obesity on Pollution
Trans-fats and genetics are passe. The latest excuse for being obese may be pollution.
If it sounds ridiculous, you may not be alone in your incredulity. As implausible as it seems, a Spanish study conducted in Menorca may bear this out. The study focused on the impact that chemical pollution has on the tendency of a fetus to be obese later in life.
Researchers at Barcelona's Municipal Institute of Medical Research have made a connection between obesity and in-utero exposure to certain chemicals. It concluded that fetuses exposed to these chemicals may be pre-disposed to weight gain in life.
The study measured levels of a pesticide in the umbilical cords of 403 children born in Menorca, Spain. The pesticide is known as hexachlorobenzene, or HCB. Children with the highest recorded levels of HCB in cord blood were twice as likely to be obese by six-and-a-half compared to peers.
Hexachlorobenzene is a fungicide that is used to treat seeds for the disease bunt. However, it is a carcinogen in animals, leading to the obvious supposition that it may affect humans similarly. HCB has been linked in animals to cancers of the thyroid, liver and kidneys.
This connection is likely to add more fuel to the debate on pesticides and their effects on children. The implication is that other pesticides may also be suspect even though HCB has been banned since this test began. Many municipalities and regions around the world have banned the use of pesticides for cosmetic use. Public concern for the welfare of children has trumped the desire of homeowners to have lawns free of crab grass.
Despite these bans, certain pesticides continue to be used for farming applications in many areas worldwide. The results of this Spanish study will probably spark more conversation about balancing the needs of farmers with the rights of children. One needs only to look at past pesticide problems, like those surrounding DDT, to see that history often repeats itself.
In fact, previous studies on other chemicals boost the findings of the HCB study. Similar tests with organotins, bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates produced likewise alarming results. The effects appeared the most devastating in developing fetuses, babies and animals in-utero.
The HCB study was conducted only on children living on the island of Menorca. Debate surrounds the relation of Mediterranean diet (and Menorca-style food in particular) to the results of the study. Mediterranean diet typically relies heavily upon fresh regional fruits and vegetables, local meat (especially lamb, chicken, pork and game birds like quail) and olive oil. Lobster is also a local favorite in Menorca. True Mediterranean diet is considered by many professionals to be a healthy lifestyle. Mediterranean diet tends to be low in saturated fat and high in fiber as long as processed foods are greatly limited.
Nothing in Mediterranean diet or Menorca cooking habits suggests that the study results are skewed by regional diet factors. It appears that diet plays a minor role, while exposure to chemical pollution may be a bigger factor than ever realized. It may reasonably be assumed that these results would play similarly in most regions of the world.
Hexachlorobenzene is one of the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council's "dirty dozen." This list of chemical pollutants includes HCB, DDT plus 10 other persistent organic pollutants (POPs.) The dirty dozen were banned in 1995. Others have since been added to the list and banned. The Governing Council continues to investigate chemical pollutants. The latest HCB study is one more confirmation of its suspicions regarding HCB.
If it sounds ridiculous, you may not be alone in your incredulity. As implausible as it seems, a Spanish study conducted in Menorca may bear this out. The study focused on the impact that chemical pollution has on the tendency of a fetus to be obese later in life.
Researchers at Barcelona's Municipal Institute of Medical Research have made a connection between obesity and in-utero exposure to certain chemicals. It concluded that fetuses exposed to these chemicals may be pre-disposed to weight gain in life.
The study measured levels of a pesticide in the umbilical cords of 403 children born in Menorca, Spain. The pesticide is known as hexachlorobenzene, or HCB. Children with the highest recorded levels of HCB in cord blood were twice as likely to be obese by six-and-a-half compared to peers.
Hexachlorobenzene is a fungicide that is used to treat seeds for the disease bunt. However, it is a carcinogen in animals, leading to the obvious supposition that it may affect humans similarly. HCB has been linked in animals to cancers of the thyroid, liver and kidneys.
This connection is likely to add more fuel to the debate on pesticides and their effects on children. The implication is that other pesticides may also be suspect even though HCB has been banned since this test began. Many municipalities and regions around the world have banned the use of pesticides for cosmetic use. Public concern for the welfare of children has trumped the desire of homeowners to have lawns free of crab grass.
Despite these bans, certain pesticides continue to be used for farming applications in many areas worldwide. The results of this Spanish study will probably spark more conversation about balancing the needs of farmers with the rights of children. One needs only to look at past pesticide problems, like those surrounding DDT, to see that history often repeats itself.
In fact, previous studies on other chemicals boost the findings of the HCB study. Similar tests with organotins, bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates produced likewise alarming results. The effects appeared the most devastating in developing fetuses, babies and animals in-utero.
The HCB study was conducted only on children living on the island of Menorca. Debate surrounds the relation of Mediterranean diet (and Menorca-style food in particular) to the results of the study. Mediterranean diet typically relies heavily upon fresh regional fruits and vegetables, local meat (especially lamb, chicken, pork and game birds like quail) and olive oil. Lobster is also a local favorite in Menorca. True Mediterranean diet is considered by many professionals to be a healthy lifestyle. Mediterranean diet tends to be low in saturated fat and high in fiber as long as processed foods are greatly limited.
Nothing in Mediterranean diet or Menorca cooking habits suggests that the study results are skewed by regional diet factors. It appears that diet plays a minor role, while exposure to chemical pollution may be a bigger factor than ever realized. It may reasonably be assumed that these results would play similarly in most regions of the world.
Hexachlorobenzene is one of the United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council's "dirty dozen." This list of chemical pollutants includes HCB, DDT plus 10 other persistent organic pollutants (POPs.) The dirty dozen were banned in 1995. Others have since been added to the list and banned. The Governing Council continues to investigate chemical pollutants. The latest HCB study is one more confirmation of its suspicions regarding HCB.
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