Despite having been a very useful invention for functionality, plastic has many problems. The use of this synthetic resource is multiple, but it often ends up in landfill sites and tips and never really breaks down. Worse, it infects our environment, our water, and nature itself. Plastic, though, is also now being linked to having a potential impact on obesity.
The chemicals that come from plastic could be a potential cause of obesity in some people. While this is still being studied closer, the presence of chemicals like Bisphenol A – BPA – now has some worrying links to obesity. Why? Because studies are showing it could be linked to a term known as endocrine disruption, which plays a role in how your body can manage its weight.
While there is still lots of work to be done to better understand this, it is a growing consensus within the scientific community that plastic and obesity could go hand-in-hand. This is not even to do with what is within the plastic i.e. a food product; the actual plastic itself could be the cause.
Studies so far have shown that the chemicals found within plastic could have an impact on how your metabolism works. This is due to a process known as adipogenesis, which increases your likelihood to gain weight and the risk of obesity.
Chemicals found within the plastic, then, are seen as potential risk factors. BPA is one, but other studies show that it could be other, as yet undiscovered, chemicals within the plastic that acts as the protagonist for weight gain overall.
The study does show, though, that obesity goes beyond simply what you are eating and your lifestyle. Other factors are hurting how you grow and gain weight. While more research is needed, some believe that the chemicals could be leaking out of plastic containers when they are heated up. More research is needed, but this is an illuminating – if worrying – research development that should be a cause for concern.