Bruce Blumberg, a developmental biologist at the University of California, Irvine, has some of the most compelling evidence to show the fetal origins of obesity.
Blumberg’s research suggests that a child exposed to tin (”tributyltin”) during the earliest part of life will throughout his life have a propensity to become fat. At a vital step where a cell decides to become specialized as either a bone or fat cell, ones that were exposed to tin during pregnancy are twice as likely to become fat cells, said Blumberg.
He called such chemicals “obesogens,” or chemicals that are thought to promote obesity.
“I’d say obesogens are a factor we hadn’t previously thought about, and it is a fact we are starting to think more about,” Blumberg said.
“Diet and exercise are insufficient to explain the obesity epidemic, particularly the epidemic of obese six-month-old babies.”
But he stressed that the science is not ready enough to say how much of an effect prenatal exposure to tin actually has. Obesity is a multicausal factor.
Source: The GreenCAPE Blog
In health,
David Greenwalt – Founder
Leanness Lifestyle University