Research

Hormonal

Obesogenic endocrine disruptors are lipophilic and bioaccumulate in fat tissue, creating a 'vicious spiral' where increased body fat leads to greater retention of these chemicals, which in turn promotes further fat storage.

Be aware that obesity can trap environmental toxins in your fat, which may then fuel further fat storage. Gradual weight loss is preferable to rapid dieting, as it allows your body time to metabolize and eliminate stored chemicals. Reducing exposure to plastics and personal care products can help break this cycle.

ModerateSupportsMEDIUM confidence
This has the potential for a vicious spiral not only of increasing obesity but also increasing the retention of other lipophilic pollutant chemicals... The obesogenic activity of endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) results in increased body fat: since EDCs are lipophilic, more EDCs will be stored as the amount of body fat increases.
Philippa D. Darbre · Current Obesity Reports · 2017

Why this rating

The paper describes this as 'plausible' and notes that biological availability of retained compounds is 'poorly understood'.

Source

Endocrine Disruptors and Obesity

Philippa D. Darbre · Current Obesity Reports · 2017

DOI 10.1007/s13679-017-0240-4

narrative_reviewCited 380×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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