People relate weight gain to a lot of factors such as an unhealthy diet or a sedentary lifestyle. Surprisingly, there's another factor that leads to weight gain. What is it? According to reports, chemicals found in plastic containers lead to weight gain.
Certain food containers made from plastic contain a chemical that can trigger weight gain. This chemical is none other than Phthalates, commonly used to make plastics harder to break. A study was done by the Helmholtz Center for Environmental Research. These chemicals that enter the body greatly affect the hormone system, which then leads to altering the metabolic process leading to weight gain.
"Correlations between increased phthalate concentrations in the human body and the development of overweight have already been proven in epidemiological studies and should be analysed in more detail," explained Dr Martin von Bergen.
While bad diet and lack of exercise are the most common link to excessive weight gain, the study proves that phthalate could be responsible as well. Phthalate gets transferred to food through plastic packaging, and mostly through fatty products like sausage and cheese. For now, the teams of researchers continue to study the effects of Phthalate on the body.
This is not the first time however that plastic reportedly leads to weight gain. In a report by the Sustainable Earth posted 2012, plastics in water bottle could also be making you gain weight. Water bottles contain the chemical Bisphenol A (BPA), which has been linked to increased fat cell growth and insulin production.
Chemicals in plastics not only lead to weight gain, but may also cause infertility. Exposure to BPA also causes harm to infants, the chronically ill and pregnant women.
Save yourself from the harm of Phthalates and BPA by avoiding the use of plastic containers. Use stainless steel containers to store your food rather than resorting to freezer plastic bags.
