We have all heard that BPA, which is used in some plastics to make them more rigid, is bad for you. But why? It is considered an endocrine disruptor. What that means is that, when it gets into the body, it messes with our hormones. BPA specifically mimics the estrogen hormone. But BPA is not the only endocrine disruptor that we come into on a daily basis. Plastics are now advertising that they are BPA-free, but what they are replacing it with, BPS, may be more harmful. What other chemicals that are being used in plastics can leach out and be detectable in our bodies?
Studies
One small-scale observational study wanted to compare BPA levels excreted in urine and BMI level of children. This is only a correlation, not causation. "Higher levels of urinary BPA were associated with a higher odds of obesity (BMI > 95%) and abnormal waist circumference–to–height ratio. Longitudinal analyses are needed to elucidate temporal relationships between BPA exposure and the development of obesity and chronic disease risk factors in children." Breaking this down: maybe the overweight children ate more pre-made meals, which exposed them to more plastics, and the lower BMI children ate more fresh food or food made from scratch at home, which exposed them to less plastics. The BPA levels could be indirectly related to BMI and more directly related to the type of diet, i.e. processed or fresh.Another study was conducted over a longer period of time on the same topic. "In this low-income Mexican-American population, we found that higher BPA concentrations in children’s urine at 9 years of age were associated with increased odds of obesity and increased BMI z-score, waist circumference, and percent body fat at age 9. However, we found that higher prenatal urinary BPA concentrations were associated with decreased BMI z-scores, percent body fat, and obesity in girls at age 9 years. No association of prenatal BMI and body measurements was seen in boys. BPA concentrations in children’s urine at 5 years of age were not associated with any body size parameters at age 5 or 9 years."
Where is it found?
BPA, or Bisphenol A, is found in many common plastics. It is found in very high levels in thermal receipt tape - this can be a big problem for cashiers. It is in the inner coating of a lot of canned products. Cosmetics, hygiene products, house dust (when particles of BPA fall off the original product), recycled paper (if it is recycled with thermal paper), water bottles, and many more products you may find around your house.Possible development in utero when exposed to BPA
- Hyperactivity
- Learning defects
- Insulin resistance
- Weight gain
- Female: Tumors of mammary glands
- Female: Abnormal ovarian pathologies
- Male: Prostate cancer
- Male: Infertility
- Male: Genital abnormalities - incomplete descent of testes into scrotum
Something to think about:
Tupperware, a common plastic food container brand, first came out to the public in 1948. If a mother started using these plastic food containers while pregnant in 1948, her child could be almost 70 years old now. Most of the medical problems have been for people a bit younger than that, probably when Tupperware became more popular. More use of plastics can greatly increase the presence of BPA and other endocrine disruptors in the body; this increase during pregnancy, and therefore development of the fetus, could possibly explain some of the health problems that we are starting to see more and more, especially starting in the 40-65 age range. We have been using more and more plastics since it first became popular in the home and have been seeing more and more health problems become apparent and in earlier ages.- early puberty
- obesity and diabetes
- masculinizing female fetuses
- feminizing male fetuses
- more children born intersex
- infertility
- hyperactivity and learning problems
- thyroid problems
- immune system problems
BPA
BPS (being used in place of BPA in "BPA-free" products)
Endocrine disruptor
PBDE
Pthalates
PVC
Films
Bag It (2010)Chemerical (2009) - Hulu
Our Chemical Lives (2015) - YouTube - 28:39
Our Daily Poison (2011)
Plastic Planet (2009)
The Great Invasion (2010) - YouTube - 51:50
The Human Experiment (2013) - Netflix
The Idiot Cycle (2009)
Toxic Baby (2016)
Unacceptable Levels (2013)
Why Am I Still Fat? (2015) - YouTube - 28:26
Sources
Eng, D.S., Lee, J.M., Gebremariam, A., Meeker, J.D., Peterson, K., & Padmanabhan, V. (2013). Bisphenol A and Chronic Disease Risk Factors in US Children. Pediactrics, 132(3), e637-45. doi: 10.1542/peds.2013-010. http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2013/08/13/peds.2013-0106.full.pdfHarley, K.G., Schall, R.A., Chevrier, J., Tyler, K., Aguirre, H., Bradman, A., Holland, N.T., Lustig, R.H., Calafat, A.M., & Eskenazi, B. (2013). Prenatal and Postnatal Bisphenol A Exposure and Body Mass Index in Childhood in the CHAMACOS Cohort. Environmental Health Perspectives 121(4), 514-20. doi: 10.1289/ehp.1205548. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/121/4/ehp.1205548.pdf
V. (2009). Phthalates Impair Germ Cell Development in the Human Fetal Testis Vitro without Change in Testosterone Production. Environmental Health Perspectives 117(1), 32-7. doi: 10.1289/ehp.11146. http://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/wp-content/uploads/117/1/ehp.11146.pdf
Ünüvar, T., & Büyükgebiz, A. (2012). Fetal and Neonatal Endocrine Disruptors. Journal of Clinical Research in Pediatric Endocrinology, 4(2), 51–60. doi: 10.4274/Jcrpe.569. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3386773/
Vom Saal, F.S., Nagel, S.C., Coe, B.L., Angle, B.M., & Taylor, J.A. (2012). The Estrogenic Endocrine Disrupting Chemical Bisphenol A (BPA) And Obesity. Molecular and Cellular Endocrinology, 354(1-2), 74–84. doi: 10.1016/j.mce.2012.01.001. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3306519/
