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It's no secret that technological advancement makes our lives easier; we can drive to work, we sit in an office chair having our computers do all the complex work we used to do ourselves, we then drive home and spent the evening sat in front of our TV's.
As well as making our lives easier, these technological advancements may also be to blame for the worryingly increasing levels of obesity in the population.
I say 'may' because while it's obvious they do contribute in a big way, there are other more dangerous reasons for the growth in levels of obesity.
Those reasons are chemicals. Chemicals found in our home, our workplaces and even in our food.
The last several decades has seen big changes in the way we eat and exercise, and that also plays a big part in obesity, but it's been slowly coming to light that the chemicals we come into contact almost on a daily basis are contributing too.
Many toxic chemicals have severe impacts on the human body and research is showing that those chemicals, as well as affecting our hormonal systems, are also negatively affecting our metabolic functions, which has been linked to insulin resistance, heart disease, weight gain and obesity.
And as I said, these chemicals are everywhere. Even in our foods.
I want to go over a couple of case studies I found that show how exposure to these toxic chemicals may, in fact, be one of the main reasons for today's critical obesity levels.
Bisphenol A
isphenol A (BPA) is a building block for polycarbonate plastic and is a component of almost every type of food can lining. It's also known to be estrogenic and has negative affects on thyroid function.
More recent research shows that exposure may have a significant impact on a persons weight gain.
A study of US residents shows links between higher exposure and a greater likelihood to suffer heart disease or diabetes.
Several laboratory research studies show that BPA exposure can lead to increased weight gain and greatly increased fat desposits, especially in females. The animals that were exposed did not eat more than usual, but continued to gain weight more than their unexposed counterparts.
It's been found from cell culture studies that BPA can suppress hormones that protect our bodies from insulin resistance and also trigger different cells to become fat cells.
Perfluorinated Compounds
Perfluorinated compands (PFCs) are used on a lot of products we use very often, and make stain-resistant coatings for your clothing, cookware, furniture, carpets and several other items in your house or office.
Several studies over the years have shown that PFC exposure is directly linked to higher cholesterol. Most recent research shows that adults in the US, with higher levels of up to 3 PFCs in their bodies, had higher non-HDL and total cholesterol's.
PFCs have also been directly linked to dangerously low birth weights which is a major risk factor in diabetes and obesity later in life.
If you want to know more about chemicals and the dangerous they pose to you and your families health, you can take the new COSHH Risk Assessor Certification™.
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