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What Is An Obesogen?

Toxic chemicals are everywhere these days. You may find them in your food, water, and personal care products. They’re in our furniture, clothing, and dust around the house. Additionally, you’ll find toxic chemicals in the air, soil, lakes, and oceans. Sadly, they are just about everywhere these days. And they are having a devastating impact on our health. Some of the worst are Obesogens. So what is an obesogen? Well, let’s find out.

What does the term Obesogen mean?

Obesogens are artificial chemicals that contribute to obesity and cause resistant weight loss. You may find them in food containers, plastic bottles, other plastics, cookware, personal care products, and cosmetics. When these chemicals enter your body, they disrupt normal hormonal function and promote fat gain. These chemicals also reduce your body’s ability to lose weight causing resistant weight loss.

Obesogens play a role in other health issues like hormone issues, autoimmune disease, diabetes, heart disease, and even a correlation in COVID-19 disease pathogenesis.

This is an alarming issue, and despite what you may think the FDA and other regulatory organizations are doing little to nothing to regulate or monitor the use of these chemicals in our everyday products.

what is an obesogen

What are examples of obesogens?

According to a groundbreaking study released in 2021, there are twelve (12) Class 1 Obesogens. The study classifies these chemicals to have medium to strong epidemiological evidence, strong animal evidence, and strong in vitro evidence of causing obesity. The researchers (me too!) believe these chemicals must be banned to prevent further compromise to our health.

  • BPA – Found in plastics and canned food.
  • Smoking (Nicotine)
  • Phthalates (DEHP) – Added to plastics to make them flexible.
  • Air Pollution (PAH, PM2.5)
  • PBDE – Reduce the chances a product will catch on fire.
  • DDT – Modern synthetic insecticides. Banned in the US, but still found in soil here and used around the world.
  • PFOA – Used to make products resistant to sticking, heat, water, stains, and grease. Think raincoats and non-stick cooking pans.
  • PFOS – Commonly used as a stain-resistant coating. PFOS is often found in personal care products, cosmetics, carpets, and cleaning products.
  • PCBs – Coolants and lubricants that are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds. They were banned in the US in 1979, but are still in use outside of the United States.
  • MSG – Monosodium glutamate is a flavor enhancer added to many processed foods and used in some restaurants.

There are many others, but these are a few of the top contributors.

How do I get rid of obesogens?

The best way to “get rid” of Obesogens is to avoid them in the first place. Here are several things you can do to reduce your daily exposure to Obesogens:

  • Avoid canned food unless it’s labeled BPA-free.
  • Replace ALL non-stick cookware with stainless steel or cast iron.
  • Avoid plastic food storage containers and water bottles. Replace with glass or stainless steel. For lightweight to-go containers consider platinum silicon options.
  • Don’t buy any foods containing MSG. This is especially common in condiments like ranch dressing.
  • Don’t smoke! For sooooo many reasons.
  • Avoid wearing waterproof and fire-retardent clothing.
  • Avoid stain-resistant carpeting.

If you are struggling with obesity or resistant weight loss one thing you may want to try is a full-body detox to reduce and remove toxic chemicals in your body that may interfere with your hormones. A detox like this should ONLY be done under the supervision of an experienced doctor. There can be unforeseen issues that may arise. I suggest looking for a functional medicine doctor who is well-versed in environmental toxins.

Still have questions? Comment below or message us on Instagram.

References:

Obesity II: Establishing causal links between chemical exposures and obesity – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35395240/

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