Hormonal
Prenatal or early-life exposure to obesogenic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) such as tributyltin or rosiglitazone alters the epigenome of multipotent stromal stem cells (MSCs), biasing them toward the adipocyte lineage and resulting in a lifelong increase in adipocyte number (hypercellularity) and predisposition to obesity.
Prevention of obesity may require minimizing exposure to specific endocrine-disrupting chemicals (like certain plastics, pesticides, and pharmaceuticals) during pregnancy and early childhood, as these exposures can biologically program the body to store more fat cells for life, making weight management significantly harder later on.
Obesogen exposure can alter the epigenome of multipotent stromal stem cells, biasing them toward the adipocyte lineage at the expense of bone. Hence, humans exposed to obesogens during early life might have an altered stem cell compartment, which is preprogrammed toward an adipogenic fate. This results in a higher steady state number of adipocytes and potentially a lifelong struggle to maintain a healthy weight.
Why this rating
The paper cites multiple animal studies (mice) and cell culture data showing causal links, alongside correlational human epidemiological studies linking EDC presence to increased BMI.
Source
Endocrine disrupting chemicals and the developmental programming of adipogenesis and obesity
Amanda Janesick et al. · Birth Defects Research Part C Embryo Today Reviews · 2011
DOI 10.1002/bdrc.20197
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