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BPA linked to childhood obesity
KIDS with higher levels of the widely used substance BPA in their bodies are more likely to be obese, according to the first large-scale, nationally representative study to link an environmental chemical with obesity in children and teens.
Researchers acknowledge their study's design doesn't allow them to definitely conclude BPA, or bisphenol A, caused the children's obesity. Rates of obesity have been rising for three decades as Americans have become more sedentary. But the findings, in Tuesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, add to a growing body of research -- in both humans and animals -- questioning BPA's safety, said Philip Landrigan, director of Children's Environmental Health Center at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York.
"It's a credible study and it has to be given some attention," said Landrigan, who was not involved with the study.
In particular, the study adds to the notion certain chemicals are "obesogens" that alter the body's metabolism, making it harder for people to lose weight, even with diet and exercise, says Linda Birnbaum, director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, who was not involved in the study, which drew on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention surveys of 2,838 kids and teens, ages six to 19.
-- USA Today
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition September 19, 2012 A8
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