New Study on Causes of Obesity

A new study states that exposure in the womb to some common chemicals may cause a person to become obese. These chemicals include those used to make many products, such as plastic bottles and pizza box liners. Scientists exposed mice to tiny amounts of these chemicals during development and found that these mice were heavier than mice not exposed to these chemicals.
"One of the problems we are finding is we don't know where all these chemicals are," said Suzanne Fenton, a research biologist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, whose research focused on perfluorooctanoic acid. "The chemicals appear to disrupt the endocrine system by altering gene and metabolic function involved in weight gain", said Bruce Blumberg, a University of California biologist. "The result is the offspring store fat cells more efficiently, which makes them gain weight."
It is important to note that this study has not been done in humans and therefore may not be applicable. It is interesting, however. This may be why some children are heavy, despite seeming to eat similar foods to thinner kids and despite having a normal metabolism. Are some people programmed to become obese even before birth? It is possible.
If true, it does not mean that such individuals are destined to a lifetime of obesity. They just may have a more difficult time losing weight, although weight loss would still be possible. We cannot and should not simply "give up" in light of these new findings. It may be helpful to gain some understanding as to why our children are heavy, but it doesn't change the treatment options. These children should be taught healthy nutrition and exercise from an early age to prevent the further accumulation of fat cells.