Although they seem like harmless materials, many cleaning and personal care products can make us fat. It may seem like a strange way to gain weight, but a new study suggests that the plastics in shampoo bottles may actually be contributing to weight gain.
That’s because scientists have discovered eleven chemicals that can affect our metabolism and contribute to weight gain in everyday products like beverage bottles, kitchen sponges, and hair conditioners. Researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology looked at thirty-four different plastic products to see what chemicals they contained.
They found more than 55,000 different chemical components in the products and identified 629 of the substances, 11 of which are known to be metabolism-disrupting chemicals. Their experiments show that common plastic products contain a mix of substances that may be a relevant and underestimated factor behind overweight and obesity.
Products with obesogens
For a long time, experts believed that most plastic chemicals would remain in these everyday products, but the team of scientists has shown that a large amount leaches out under real conditions. This allows chemicals to enter the body.
Some previous research has also suggested that some plastics contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals, also known as “obesogens,” that can affect our development and fertility. However, it now appears that they may also be guilty of gaining weight.
This is because chemicals in a third of the plastic products investigated in the new study were found to contribute to the development of fat cells. The substances in these products reprogrammed the cells to become fat cells , which in turn multiplied rapidly and stored more fat.
While some plastic products contained known metabolism-disrupting substances, others did not, but still induced the development of fat cells. This means that plastics contain currently unidentified chemicals that influence how the body stores fat. It is very likely that it is not the usual suspects, such as bisphenol A, that are causing these metabolic disorders. This means that other plastic chemicals, in addition to those we already know, could be contributing to fattening.
What products increase the risk of being overweight?
Around two billion people in the world are overweight and around 650 million of them are classified as obese. There are many reasons for this, but the authors of the latest study say plastic chemicals may be a previously unconsidered factor.
The chemicals include phthalates and bisphenols, but the new research shows there are many more substances that trigger these troublesome effects. Phthalates and bisphenol-A are known for their potential effects on reproductive, neurological, and immune functions. But animal studies also suggest that early exposure to some can cause weight gain later in life.
Some manufacturers have reduced the use of EDCs, also called “obesogens,” in their products, but many remain common in consumer goods. The products studied, which favored weight gain, were:
- refillable drink bottle
- Garbage bag
- shower gel bottle
- freezer bag
- hair conditioner bottle
- kitchen sponge
In contrast, other everyday products did not present problems. So we can rest easy for the lid of the coffee cup, the bottle of drinking yogurt, the plastic cup or the bath sponge.
