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GoGreenNation news

Op-ed: Untangling the causes of obesity

News Feed
Tuesday, March 19, 2024

As researchers look for the reasons to explain the global rise in obesity, one thing has become clear — chemicals in our food, packaging, personal care items and other products are playing a key role. Obesity is linked to a variety of preventable health effects, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even certain types of cancer. Despite the focus on treating obesity with diet and exercise, drugs and bariatric surgery, obesity is still increasing at alarming rates worldwide, especially in children. Evidence is mounting that certain chemicals called obesogens — which include everything from sugar to known bad actor chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates, flame retardants — can cause the human (and animal) body to produce more fat than it normally would. Many obesogens do this by impacting the proper functioning of our hormones, which means they can alter metabolism and promote increased storage of calories. Because of this, obesogens can increase weight gain even if we don’t eat more. In our new analysis, we examine the different models researchers use in studying obesity. We found that exposure to obesogens can result in changes in metabolism leading to weight gain that is consistent with the other models. We proposed an integrated model that puts exposure to obesogens as a key cause of obesity. A new approach is needed — one focusing on prevention. How scientists study obesity  We compared four models that explain obesity development. The first model is the “calories in - calories out” idea: you gain weight if you eat more calories than you expend. It also says that something in the environment has changed over the last 50 or so years, unconsciously altering the brain, leading to increased food consumption and increased weight. The environmental change is not defined but researchers suspect ultra-processed foods are the culprit. The second model states that sugar is the culprit – specifically, high glycemic index carbohydrates that stimulate insulin. The increased insulin stimulates fat storage and increases how much we eat. Since the Western diet is high in sugar and ultra-processed foods, both of these models explain at least some of the current obesity epidemic. The third model — the obesogen model — states that obesogens alter metabolism. Most chemicals disrupt hormonal signaling pathways in various tissues that control energy intake, nutrient handling and body weight. Everyone is born pre-polluted with obesogens and exposure continues throughout life. Exposure to these obesogens at any time can increase weight gain but when it’s early in life (in utero and early childhood), it disrupts the normal development of fatty tissue, liver, gastrointestinal tract, brain and tissues regulating metabolism. These permanent changes can lead to obesity later in life, making it easier to gain weight and more challenging to lose it and to keep the weight off. The fourth model states that tissues have metabolism sensors that detect when there is sufficient fuel and produce small amounts of reactive oxygen species that tell the pancreas to release more insulin and fat tissue to make more fat. Both obesogens and ultra-processed foods stimulate these reactive oxygen species inappropriately in large amounts, which causes overeating. Obesogens are the common thread Obesogens are a unifying and key part of the obesity models, affecting all known key activities associated with both the first and second models.Regarding the “calories in - calories out” model, the changes that cause unconscious altered brain control of appetite can come from ultra-processed foods and obesogens (which also stimulate reactive oxygen species). Concerning the “sugar is the culprit” model, both obesogens and reactive oxygen species stimulate insulin, increasing fat storage. In the future, there should be less focus on individual models and more emphasis on a comprehensive model that includes obesogens and reactive oxygen species as essential contributors to obesity.How we can reduce obesogen exposure The good news is that we know many obesogens by name, chemicals that come from fossil fuels and plastics (BPA, phthalates, PFAS), flame retardants and some food additives, emulsifiers and colorants found in ultra-processed food. We also know where their exposures come from and how many act to increase weight gain. Decreasing human exposure to obesogens, particularly early in life, will prevent obesity. Personal changes can help, like filtering drinking water and using organic household products, cleaners and pesticides, and eliminating plastics, canned food and ultra-processed food.However, it is unrealistic to expect consumers or clinicians to prevent obesity alone. Instead, policymakers and regulators need to develop public health policies that will regulate and remove these harmful chemicals from products.Want to learn more? EHN’s guide to Obesogens: Chemicals that cause weight gain.Publication: Obesogens: a unifying theory for the global rise in obesity. Heindel JJ, Lustig RH, Howard S, Corkey BE. Int J Obes (Lond). 2024 Jan 11. doi: 10.1038/s41366-024-01460-3. Open access.Video: Are we there yet? Unifying model of obesity, by Nicholas Norwitz, about this paper.Webinar March 19, featuring Dr. Heindel: Obesogens: A unifying theory for the global rise in obesity. The webinar will be recorded and available at that link.Dr. Heindel coordinated three major review articles on obesogens published in 2022 in the journal Biomedical Pharmacology.

As researchers look for the reasons to explain the global rise in obesity, one thing has become clear — chemicals in our food, packaging, personal care items and other products are playing a key role. Obesity is linked to a variety of preventable health effects, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even certain types of cancer. Despite the focus on treating obesity with diet and exercise, drugs and bariatric surgery, obesity is still increasing at alarming rates worldwide, especially in children. Evidence is mounting that certain chemicals called obesogens — which include everything from sugar to known bad actor chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates, flame retardants — can cause the human (and animal) body to produce more fat than it normally would. Many obesogens do this by impacting the proper functioning of our hormones, which means they can alter metabolism and promote increased storage of calories. Because of this, obesogens can increase weight gain even if we don’t eat more. In our new analysis, we examine the different models researchers use in studying obesity. We found that exposure to obesogens can result in changes in metabolism leading to weight gain that is consistent with the other models. We proposed an integrated model that puts exposure to obesogens as a key cause of obesity. A new approach is needed — one focusing on prevention. How scientists study obesity  We compared four models that explain obesity development. The first model is the “calories in - calories out” idea: you gain weight if you eat more calories than you expend. It also says that something in the environment has changed over the last 50 or so years, unconsciously altering the brain, leading to increased food consumption and increased weight. The environmental change is not defined but researchers suspect ultra-processed foods are the culprit. The second model states that sugar is the culprit – specifically, high glycemic index carbohydrates that stimulate insulin. The increased insulin stimulates fat storage and increases how much we eat. Since the Western diet is high in sugar and ultra-processed foods, both of these models explain at least some of the current obesity epidemic. The third model — the obesogen model — states that obesogens alter metabolism. Most chemicals disrupt hormonal signaling pathways in various tissues that control energy intake, nutrient handling and body weight. Everyone is born pre-polluted with obesogens and exposure continues throughout life. Exposure to these obesogens at any time can increase weight gain but when it’s early in life (in utero and early childhood), it disrupts the normal development of fatty tissue, liver, gastrointestinal tract, brain and tissues regulating metabolism. These permanent changes can lead to obesity later in life, making it easier to gain weight and more challenging to lose it and to keep the weight off. The fourth model states that tissues have metabolism sensors that detect when there is sufficient fuel and produce small amounts of reactive oxygen species that tell the pancreas to release more insulin and fat tissue to make more fat. Both obesogens and ultra-processed foods stimulate these reactive oxygen species inappropriately in large amounts, which causes overeating. Obesogens are the common thread Obesogens are a unifying and key part of the obesity models, affecting all known key activities associated with both the first and second models.Regarding the “calories in - calories out” model, the changes that cause unconscious altered brain control of appetite can come from ultra-processed foods and obesogens (which also stimulate reactive oxygen species). Concerning the “sugar is the culprit” model, both obesogens and reactive oxygen species stimulate insulin, increasing fat storage. In the future, there should be less focus on individual models and more emphasis on a comprehensive model that includes obesogens and reactive oxygen species as essential contributors to obesity.How we can reduce obesogen exposure The good news is that we know many obesogens by name, chemicals that come from fossil fuels and plastics (BPA, phthalates, PFAS), flame retardants and some food additives, emulsifiers and colorants found in ultra-processed food. We also know where their exposures come from and how many act to increase weight gain. Decreasing human exposure to obesogens, particularly early in life, will prevent obesity. Personal changes can help, like filtering drinking water and using organic household products, cleaners and pesticides, and eliminating plastics, canned food and ultra-processed food.However, it is unrealistic to expect consumers or clinicians to prevent obesity alone. Instead, policymakers and regulators need to develop public health policies that will regulate and remove these harmful chemicals from products.Want to learn more? EHN’s guide to Obesogens: Chemicals that cause weight gain.Publication: Obesogens: a unifying theory for the global rise in obesity. Heindel JJ, Lustig RH, Howard S, Corkey BE. Int J Obes (Lond). 2024 Jan 11. doi: 10.1038/s41366-024-01460-3. Open access.Video: Are we there yet? Unifying model of obesity, by Nicholas Norwitz, about this paper.Webinar March 19, featuring Dr. Heindel: Obesogens: A unifying theory for the global rise in obesity. The webinar will be recorded and available at that link.Dr. Heindel coordinated three major review articles on obesogens published in 2022 in the journal Biomedical Pharmacology.



As researchers look for the reasons to explain the global rise in obesity, one thing has become clear — chemicals in our food, packaging, personal care items and other products are playing a key role.

Obesity is linked to a variety of preventable health effects, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease and even certain types of cancer. Despite the focus on treating obesity with diet and exercise, drugs and bariatric surgery, obesity is still increasing at alarming rates worldwide, especially in children.

Evidence is mounting that certain chemicals called obesogens — which include everything from sugar to known bad actor chemicals like bisphenol-A (BPA), phthalates, flame retardants — can cause the human (and animal) body to produce more fat than it normally would. Many obesogens do this by impacting the proper functioning of our hormones, which means they can alter metabolism and promote increased storage of calories. Because of this, obesogens can increase weight gain even if we don’t eat more.

In our new analysis, we examine the different models researchers use in studying obesity. We found that exposure to obesogens can result in changes in metabolism leading to weight gain that is consistent with the other models. We proposed an integrated model that puts exposure to obesogens as a key cause of obesity.

A new approach is needed — one focusing on prevention.

How scientists study obesity 


We compared four models that explain obesity development. The first model is the “calories in - calories out” idea: you gain weight if you eat more calories than you expend. It also says that something in the environment has changed over the last 50 or so years, unconsciously altering the brain, leading to increased food consumption and increased weight. The environmental change is not defined but researchers suspect ultra-processed foods are the culprit.

The second model states that sugar is the culprit – specifically, high glycemic index carbohydrates that stimulate insulin. The increased insulin stimulates fat storage and increases how much we eat. Since the Western diet is high in sugar and ultra-processed foods, both of these models explain at least some of the current obesity epidemic.

The third model — the obesogen model — states that obesogens alter metabolism. Most chemicals disrupt hormonal signaling pathways in various tissues that control energy intake, nutrient handling and body weight. Everyone is born pre-polluted with obesogens and exposure continues throughout life. Exposure to these obesogens at any time can increase weight gain but when it’s early in life (in utero and early childhood), it disrupts the normal development of fatty tissue, liver, gastrointestinal tract, brain and tissues regulating metabolism. These permanent changes can lead to obesity later in life, making it easier to gain weight and more challenging to lose it and to keep the weight off.

The fourth model states that tissues have metabolism sensors that detect when there is sufficient fuel and produce small amounts of reactive oxygen species that tell the pancreas to release more insulin and fat tissue to make more fat. Both obesogens and ultra-processed foods stimulate these reactive oxygen species inappropriately in large amounts, which causes overeating.

Obesogens are the common thread 


Obesogens are a unifying and key part of the obesity models, affecting all known key activities associated with both the first and second models.

Regarding the “calories in - calories out” model, the changes that cause unconscious altered brain control of appetite can come from ultra-processed foods and obesogens (which also stimulate reactive oxygen species). Concerning the “sugar is the culprit” model, both obesogens and reactive oxygen species stimulate insulin, increasing fat storage.

In the future, there should be less focus on individual models and more emphasis on a comprehensive model that includes obesogens and reactive oxygen species as essential contributors to obesity.

How we can reduce obesogen exposure 


The good news is that we know many obesogens by name, chemicals that come from fossil fuels and plastics (BPA, phthalates, PFAS), flame retardants and some food additives, emulsifiers and colorants found in ultra-processed food. We also know where their exposures come from and how many act to increase weight gain. Decreasing human exposure to obesogens, particularly early in life, will prevent obesity.

Personal changes can help, like filtering drinking water and using organic household products, cleaners and pesticides, and eliminating plastics, canned food and ultra-processed food.

However, it is unrealistic to expect consumers or clinicians to prevent obesity alone. Instead, policymakers and regulators need to develop public health policies that will regulate and remove these harmful chemicals from products.

Want to learn more? 


EHN’s guide to Obesogens: Chemicals that cause weight gain.

Publication: Obesogens: a unifying theory for the global rise in obesity. Heindel JJ, Lustig RH, Howard S, Corkey BE. Int J Obes (Lond). 2024 Jan 11. doi: 10.1038/s41366-024-01460-3. Open access.

Video: Are we there yet? Unifying model of obesity, by Nicholas Norwitz, about this paper.

Webinar March 19, featuring Dr. Heindel: Obesogens: A unifying theory for the global rise in obesity. The webinar will be recorded and available at that link.

Dr. Heindel coordinated three major review articles on obesogens published in 2022 in the journal Biomedical Pharmacology.
Read the full story here.
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Contributor: 'Save the whales' worked for decades, but now gray whales are starving

The once-booming population that passed California twice a year has cratered because of retreating sea ice. A new kind of intervention is needed.

Recently, while sailing with friends on San Francisco Bay, I enjoyed the sight of harbor porpoises, cormorants, pelicans, seals and sea lions — and then the spouting plume and glistening back of a gray whale that gave me pause. Too many have been seen inside the bay recently.California’s gray whales have been considered an environmental success story since the passage of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act and 1986’s global ban on commercial whaling. They’re also a major tourist attraction during their annual 12,000-mile round-trip migration between the Arctic and their breeding lagoons in Baja California. In late winter and early spring — when they head back north and are closest to the shoreline, with the moms protecting the calves — they can be viewed not only from whale-watching boats but also from promontories along the California coast including Point Loma in San Diego, Point Lobos in Monterey and Bodega Head and Shelter Cove in Northern California.In 1972, there were some 10,000 gray whales in the population on the eastern side of the Pacific. Generations of whaling all but eliminated the western population — leaving only about 150 alive today off of East Asia and Russia. Over the four decades following passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the eastern whale numbers grew steadily to 27,000 by 2016, a hopeful story of protection leading to restoration. Then, unexpectedly over the last nine years, the eastern gray whale population has crashed, plummeting by more than half to 12,950, according to a recent report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the lowest numbers since the 1970s.Today’s changing ocean and Arctic ice conditions linked to fossil-fuel-fired climate change are putting this species again at risk of extinction.While there has been some historical variation in their population, gray whales — magnificent animals that can grow up to 50 feet long and weigh as much as 80,000 pounds — are now regularly starving to death as their main food sources disappear. This includes tiny shrimp-like amphipods in the whales’ summer feeding grounds in the Arctic. It’s there that the baleen filter feeders spend the summer gorging on tiny crustaceans from the muddy bottom of the Bering, Chuckchi and Beaufort seas, creating shallow pits or potholes in the process. But, with retreating sea ice, there is less under-ice algae to feed the amphipods that in turn feed the whales. Malnourished and starving whales are also producing fewer offspring.As a result of more whales washing up dead, NOAA declared an “unusual mortality event” in California in 2019. Between 2019 and 2025, at least 1,235 gray whales were stranded dead along the West Coast. That’s eight times greater than any previous 10-year average.While there seemed to be some recovery in 2024, 2025 brought back the high casualty rates. The hungry whales now come into crowded estuaries like San Francisco Bay to feed, making them vulnerable to ship traffic. Nine in the bay were killed by ship strikes last year while another 12 appear to have died of starvation.Michael Stocker, executive director of the acoustics group Ocean Conservation Research, has been leading whale-viewing trips to the gray whales’ breeding ground at San Ignacio Lagoon in Baja California since 2006. “When we started going, there would be 400 adult whales in the lagoon, including 100 moms and their babies,” he told me. “This year we saw about 100 adult whales, only five of which were in momma-baby pairs.” Where once the predators would not have dared to hunt, he said that more recently, “orcas came into the lagoon and ate a couple of the babies because there were not enough adult whales to fend them off.”Southern California’s Gray Whale Census & Behavior Project reported record-low calf counts last year.The loss of Arctic sea ice and refusal of the world’s nations recently gathered at the COP30 Climate Summit in Brazil to meet previous commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions suggest that the prospects for gray whales and other wildlife in our warming seas, including key food species for humans such as salmon, cod and herring, look grim.California shut down the nation’s last whaling station in 1971. And yet now whales that were once hunted for their oil are falling victim to the effects of the petroleum or “rock oil” that replaced their melted blubber as a source of light and lubrication. That’s because the burning of oil, coal and gas are now overheating our blue planet. While humans have gone from hunting to admiring whales as sentient beings in recent decades, our own intelligence comes into question when we fail to meet commitments to a clean carbon-free energy future. That could be the gray whales’ last best hope, if there is any.David Helvarg is the executive director of Blue Frontier, an ocean policy group, and co-host of “Rising Tide: The Ocean Podcast.” He is the author of the forthcoming “Forest of the Sea: The Remarkable Life and Imperiled Future of Kelp.”

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Pills that communicate from the stomach could improve medication adherence

MIT engineers designed capsules with biodegradable radio frequency antennas that can reveal when the pill has been swallowed.

In an advance that could help ensure people are taking their medication on schedule, MIT engineers have designed a pill that can report when it has been swallowed.The new reporting system, which can be incorporated into existing pill capsules, contains a biodegradable radio frequency antenna. After it sends out the signal that the pill has been consumed, most components break down in the stomach while a tiny RF chip passes out of the body through the digestive tract.This type of system could be useful for monitoring transplant patients who need to take immunosuppressive drugs, or people with infections such as HIV or TB, who need treatment for an extended period of time, the researchers say.“The goal is to make sure that this helps people receive the therapy they need to help maximize their health,” says Giovanni Traverso, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT, a gastroenterologist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, and an associate member of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.Traverso is the senior author of the new study, which appears today in Nature Communications. 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U.S. Military Ends Practice of Shooting Live Animals to Train Medics to Treat Battlefield Wounds

The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act bans the use of live animals in live fire training exercises and prohibits "painful" research on domestic cats and dogs

U.S. Military Ends Practice of Shooting Live Animals to Train Medics to Treat Battlefield Wounds The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act bans the use of live animals in live fire training exercises and prohibits “painful” research on domestic cats and dogs Sarah Kuta - Daily Correspondent January 5, 2026 12:00 p.m. The U.S. military will no longer shoot live goats and pigs to help combat medics learn to treat battlefield injuries. Pexels The United States military is no longer shooting live animals as part of its trauma training exercises for combat medics. The 2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which was enacted on December 18, bans the use of live animals—including dogs, cats, nonhuman primates and marine mammals—in any live fire trauma training conducted by the Department of Defense. It directs military leaders to instead use advanced simulators, mannequins, cadavers or actors. According to the Associated Press’ Ben Finley, the bill ends the military’s practice of shooting live goats and pigs to help combat medics learn to treat battlefield injuries. However, the military is allowed to continue other practices involving animals, including stabbing, burning and testing weapons on them. In those scenarios, the animals are supposed to be anesthetized, per the AP. “With today’s advanced simulation technology, we can prepare our medics for the battlefield while reducing harm to animals,” says Florida Representative Vern Buchanan, who advocated for the change, in a statement shared with the AP. He described the military’s practices as “outdated and inhumane” and called the move a “major step forward in reducing unnecessary suffering.” Quick fact: What is the National Defense Authorization Act? The National Defense Authorization Act, or NDAA, is a law passed each year that authorizes the Department of Defense’s appropriated funds, greenlights the Department of Energy’s nuclear weapons programs and sets defense policies and restrictions, among other activities, for the upcoming fiscal year. Organizations have opposed the military’s use of live animals in trauma training, too, including the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. PETA, a nonprofit animal advocacy group, described the legislation as a “major victory for animals” that will “save countless animals from heinous cruelty” in a statement. The legislation also prohibits “painful research” on domestic cats and dogs, though exceptions can be made under certain circumstances, such as interests of national security. “Painful” research includes any training, experiments or tests that fall into specific pain categories outlined by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For example, military cats and dogs can no longer be exposed to extreme environmental conditions or noxious stimuli they cannot escape, nor can they be forced to exercise to the point of distress or exhaustion. The bill comes amid a broader push to end the use of live animals in federal tests, studies and training, reports Linda F. Hersey for Stars and Stripes. After temporarily suspending live tissue training with animals in 2017, the U.S. Coast Guard made the ban permanent in 2018. In 2024, U.S. lawmakers directed the Department of Veterans Affairs to end its experiments on cats, dogs and primates. And in May 2025, the U.S. Navy announced it would no longer conduct research testing on cats and dogs. As the Washington Post’s Ernesto Londoño reported in 2013, the U.S. military has used animals for medical training since at least the Vietnam War. However, the practice largely went unnoticed until 1983, when the U.S. Army planned to anesthetize dogs, hang them from nylon mesh slings and shoot them at an indoor firing range in Maryland. When activists and lawmakers learned of the proposal, they decried the practice and convinced then-Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger to ban the shooting of dogs. However, in 1984, the AP reported the U.S. military would continue shooting live goats and pigs for wound treatment training, with a military medical study group arguing “there is no substitute for the live animals as a study object for hands-on training.” In the modern era, it’s not clear how often and to what extent the military uses animals, per the AP. And despite the Department of Defense’s past efforts to minimize the use of animals for trauma training, a 2022 report from the Government Accountability Office, the watchdog agency charged with providing fact-based, nonpartisan information to Congress, determined that the agency was “unable to fully demonstrate the extent to which it has made progress.” The Defense Health Agency, the U.S. government entity responsible for the military’s medical training, says in a statement shared with the AP that it “remains committed to replacement of animal models without compromising the quality of medical training,” including the use of “realistic training scenarios to ensure medical providers are well-prepared to care for the combat-wounded.” Animal activists say technology has come a long way in recent decades so, beyond the animal welfare concerns, the military simply no longer needs to use live animals for training. Instead, military medics can simulate treating battlefield injuries using “cut suits,” or realistic suits with skin, blood and organs that are worn by a live person to mimic traumatic injuries. However, not everyone agrees. Michael Bailey, an Army combat medic who served two tours in Iraq, told the Washington Post in 2013 that his training with a sedated goat was invaluable. “You don’t get that [sense of urgency] from a mannequin,” he told the publication. “You don’t get that feeling of this mannequin is going to die. When you’re talking about keeping someone alive when physics and the enemy have done their best to do the opposite, it’s the kind of training that you want to have in your back pocket.” Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.

Animals
Activism
Energy

Suggested Viewing

Primal State

Set at the Leonabelle Turnbull Birding Center, Port Aransas, Texas, the film is supportive of the international efforts to utilize wastewater treatment facilities as bird sanctuaries. The film features an original jazz score and commentary by naturalist Jeff Anderson and provides a glimpse of some of the diversity of bird life found along the Texas Coast while conjuring a Zen-like union with nature.

Animals
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In Praise of Insects [Sandbox]

Insects were here before humanity, but often we eliminate them as a nuisance. They are a fundamental element of this world. Without them, most of the plants would not be pollinated and birds would lose their food and become extinct. Despite their vital role, they are silently disappearing at a rapid rate.... without us noticing. ‘In Praise of Insects’ is a project to help us rethink the tiny subtle lives that are so entwined with our own. The common Bluebottle is one of the few butterflies that can be seen in central Tokyo. Even if you occasionally see the butterfly flying between buildings, you can see the miracle of life by closely observing its appearance and growth.

Experimental
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Flying With Monarchs

Flying With Monarchs is a short dance film celebrating the beauty of Monarch butterfly migration.

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Return of the Buffalo

The Lakota people on the Rosebud Reservation of South Dakota welcome buffalo back to their land with hopes that this reunion will restore their cultural, physical, spiritual, and economic health.

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Silent Forests

Loss of more than half the central African forest elephant population to poaching in the last decade has led to a concerted effort to save those that remain. These efforts are explored through one of Cameroon’s first female eco-guards, a grassroots wildlife law enforcement group, a Congolese biologist studying elephant behavior, a reformed elephant poacher, and anti-poaching sniffer dogs led by a Czech conservationist, all fighting corruption despite a lack of funding that threatens to derail their work to save the elephants.

Animals
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Documentary

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