In the UK:
"Baby bottles 'may cause obesity"
A chemical used to make babies' bottles could lead to obesity in later life, scientists have said.
Bisphenol A, or BPA, has previously been linked to the early development of puberty as well as neurological problems in infants.
The research comes a week after children's groups called for items containing BPA to be banned amid questions over possible side effects.
A number of North American companies (including WalMart) have already announced plans for BPA-free products following the controversy.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1956069/Baby-bottles-'may-cause-obesity'.html
In US:
"Chemicals May Play Role in Rise in Obesity"
Too many calories and too little exercise are undeniably the major factors contributing to the obesity epidemic, but several recent animal studies suggest that environmental exposure to widely used chemicals may also help make people fat.
"The evidence is preliminary, but a number of researchers are pursuing indications that the chemicals, which have been shown to cause abnormal changes in animals' sexual development, can also trigger fat-cell activity -- a process scientists call adipogenesis.
The chemicals under scrutiny are used in products from marine paints and pesticides to food and beverage containers. A study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found one chemical, bisphenol A, in 95 percent of the people tested, at levels at or above those that affected development in animals.
These findings were presented at last month's annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. A spokesman for the chemical industry later dismissed the concerns, but Jerry Heindel, a top official of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), who chaired the AAAS session, said the suspected link between obesity and exposure to "endocrine disrupters," as the chemicals are called because of their hormone-like effects, is "plausible and possible."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...031100918.html
In Canada:
"Health Canada bisphenol A announcement imminent"
Health Canada is expected to classify bisphenol A as a dangerous substance as early as Wednesday, which could lead to regulations on the increasingly controversial chemical.
BPA, which is used to make many hard plastic toys, bottles and food containers, is thought to mimic the hormone estrogen. Recent independent studies link the chemical to breast cancer, obesity, infertility and insulin-resistance in rodents.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/ottawa/stor...l.html?ref=rss
And from Science Dailey:
"Endocrine Disruptors In Common Plastics Linked To Obesity" Risk"
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...0514091427.htm
Exposure during development either in the womb or during infancy to chemicals used to make products such as baby bottles, the lining of food tins and some plastic food wraps and containers, may contribute to the development of obesity, according to new research presented at the European Congress on Obesity."