Chemical exposure could lead to obesity, UGA study finds

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-04/uog-cec042016.php

Public Release: 20-Apr-2016
Chemical exposure could lead to obesity, UGA study finds
University of Georgia

Exposure to chemicals found in everyday products could affect the amount of fat stored in the body, according to a study by University of Georgia researchers.

Phthalates are chemicals found in everything from plastic products to soap to nail polish--they give plastic its bendy stretch. But growing research shows that these chemicals could be harming people's health, said the study's lead author Lei Yin, an assistant research scientist in the UGA College of Public Health's department of environmental health science.

"Phthalate exposure can be closely associated with the rise of different types of disease development," Yin said.

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Although the findings cannot be directly generalized to the human population--Yu notes the cells used were mouse cells and a "human is not a big mouse"--they do give an indication of a possible link between exposure to BBP and obesity, something that could affect human health.

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