How Can Common Plastics Make People Fat? 11 Chemicals in Plastic Products Contribute to Weight Gain

Scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology led a study that showed a bizarre way of gaining weight. They analyzed 34 plastic products to identify their chemical makeup and found 55,000 types of chemicals. But what's more surprising is that 11 of these chemicals found in plastics can contribute to weight gain.

Martin Wagner, an associate professor at the university, said in a news release via EurekAlert! that the experiments they conducted all reveal that ordinary plastics contain a mix of chemicals that is often underestimated to be a factor that causes overweight and obesity.

Chemicals in Plastics Disrupt Metabolism

The new study, titled "Adipogenic Activity of Chemicals Used in Plastic Consumer Products," published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, showed that the chemicals in the 34 plastic products examined could affect the metabolism and weight.

The findings may sound strange since people come in contact with plastic products every day, such as in food packaging. Plastics are commonly used in packaging for practical reasons because, aside from being cheap, they also increase the shelf life of food.

However, MailOnline reported that laboratory findings suggest that these everyday plastics many people use, such as yogurt containers, shampoo/drink bottles, and kitchen sponges, contain metabolism-disrupting chemicals. The findings also showed that plastic chemicals do not stay in the material, unlike scientists previously believed.

Researchers showed that plastic products leach a large number of chemicals to the environment and find easy access to the human body. Previous studies also showed that plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals that affect growth and fertility, and now it appears to contribute to weight gain.

Plastics Linked to Fat Cell Development in the Body

Although the team did detect metabolism-disrupting chemicals in the plastics they analyzed, not all of them had it. The Hill reported that researchers found one-third of them contribute to fat cell development. More so, researchers discovered that these substances can reprogram precursor cells to become fat cells and accumulate over time.

Study first author Johannes Volker said that it is very likely that such chemicals contribute to overweight and obesity. Between 2017 to 2018, the U.S Department of Health and Human Services estimated that approximately 30% of adults in the US were overweight, and more than 40% of adults were considered obese.

The team also estimated that around 2 billion people worldwide are overweight, while 650 million people fall in the category of obese. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that being overweight or obese is associated with poorer mental health and reduced quality of life. It is also one of the leading causes of death worldwide, like heart disease, stroke, cancer, and diabetes.

Based on the findings, researchers recommend scaling back in plastics to promote a non-toxic environment and reduce the proliferation of plastic chemicals contributing to weight gain.

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