Research

Hormonal

Higher baseline PFAS levels (specifically PFOS and PFNA) are associated with a greater decline in Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR) during the initial weight loss phase and a blunted increase in RMR during the weight regain phase.

This finding explains why some people struggle to keep weight off despite eating less: their metabolism doesn't 'bounce back' as it should. High levels of environmental chemicals (PFAS) may blunt this metabolic recovery. To counteract this, prioritize resistance training to build metabolically active tissue, as this may help override the blunted RMR response caused by environmental factors.

GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Higher baseline plasma PFAS concentrations, especially for PFOS and PFNA, were significantly associated with greater decline in RMR during the weight-loss period and less increase in RMR during the weight regain period in both men and women.
Gang Liu et al. · PLoS Medicine · 2018

Why this rating

Measured via Deltatrac II Metabolic Monitor in a controlled trial setting.

Source

Perfluoroalkyl substances and changes in body weight and resting metabolic rate in response to weight-loss diets: A prospective study

Gang Liu et al. · PLoS Medicine · 2018

DOI 10.1371/journal.pmed.1002502

rct · n=621Cited 177×
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DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10

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