Are chemicals making us fat? The rate of obesity in very young
children — even infants — continues to climb. Evidence is
building that obesity-promoting chemicals called obesogens are
contributing to this alarming trend. Some of these obesogens are
pesticides that — as the ongoing study of endocrine disruption
clarifies — can act at very low doses to interfere with all
kinds of physiological processes. This includes, it turns out,
triggering increased fat cell production. With children affected
so early in life, it's become increasingly clear that genetic
and behavioral factors alone cannot explain the rising rates of
obesity. Scientists are now examining the contribution of
environmental factors, researching whether chemical exposures
may be promoting obesity, and if so, how. A fungicide that
promotes fat A recent study of triflumizole (TFZ) suggests that
this fungicide is a likely obesogen. In 2010, over 40,000 pounds
of TFZ's active ingredient was used in over 6,000 agricultural
applications in the state o