BPA causes obesity in children, new study shows

(NaturalNews) Are the chemicals commonly found in thermal receipt paper, aluminum cans, and plastic containers causing your children to become overweight or obese? New research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) seems to suggest this may be the case, having found that children with the highest levels of the plastics chemical bisphenol-A (BPA) in their blood are also the largest among their peers.

For their study, researchers from the New York University (NYU) School of Medicine evaluated data from a nationwide health and nutrition survey that included roughly 3,000 children ranging in age from six to 19. About 33 percent of the children were overweight, while 18 percent were considered obese based on current body mass index (BMI) guidelines.

On average, the children who participated in the survey had roughly three nanograms, or about three-billionths of a gram, of BPA in every milliliter of their urine. After adjusting for outside factors that may have affected the results, researchers found that only about 10 percent of the kids on the lowest end of the BPA spectrum were obese, while 22 percent of the children on the high end were obese.

"Overall, we observed a positive association between increasing levels of urinary BPA and both measures of obesity, independent of potential confounding factors including smoking, alcohol consumption, and serum cholesterol levels," wrote the authors of the original survey, which was published in the journal ISRN Endocrinology back in 2008.

"Elevated levels of urinary BPA are associated with measures of obesity independent of traditional risk factors, (and) this association is consistently present across gender and race-ethnic groups." (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22852093)

BPA, a hormone-disrupting, disease-causing poison

Since BPA has already been positively identified as an endocrine disruptor, it is widely believed that the chemical's hormone-altering properties may be responsible for such weight gain in many individuals. BPA has also been shown in hundreds of published studies over the last decade to cause other serious conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, reproductive problems, neurological damage, early puberty, and cancer. (http://www.naturalnews.com/BPA.html)

"BPA is commonplace -- found in copious brands of fruit, vegetables, soda, and other frequently eaten canned goods," write Brenda Watson and Leonard Smith in their book The Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps (http://www.naturalpedia.com/book_The_Detox_Strategy.html). "What's most troubling about the recent reports of BPA's prevalence ... is that it remains entirely without safety standards. It is allowed in unlimited amounts in consumer products, drinking water, and food, the top exposure source for most people."

Other prominent sources of BPA include thermal receipt paper, aluminum and steel can linings, plastic containers and packaging, composite dental fillings, pizza boxes, conventional napkins, paper towels, and toilet paper, wines fermented in plastic vats, and paper money.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037307_BPA_obesity_children.html#ixzz2EKmR3Emb

Overweight and obesity are shown to increase cancer risk by up to 50 percent

(NaturalNews) It doesn't take much more than a casual glance around you to know that overweight and obesity rates have risen during the past half century, specifically skyrocketing over the past five to ten years. An overabundance of highly processed, fructose-infused convenience foods and meals eaten at fast food restaurants have been significant contributors to the rapidly growing problem apparent in many western cultures. To put it simply, people today eat differently than their parents and grandparents, and our fast paced lifestyle and lack of physical activity are accumulating pounds around the waists of many children and adults.

Most people do not realize that the protruding bellies so commonly seen today are a major factor in the development of certain lines of cancer. Investigative researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston have published the result of a study in the journal Cancer Research that shows how fat progenitor cells may contribute to cancer growth by fortifying the vessels that provide needed blood to tumors.

The authors describe how fat progenitor cells can turn into various types of cells, and are known to fortify the vessels that provide essential blood to tumors. Prior population studies have shown that there is a correlation between obesity and cancer rates, and demonstrate that for many cancers, overweight and obesity is linked with poorer prognosis and faster progression of the disease.

Special adipose stromal cells are released through the blood to promote cancerous tumor growth

Dr. Mikhail Kolonin, lead study author noted "Our earlier studies led us to hypothesize that fat tissue called white adipose tissue, which is the fat tissue that expands in individuals who are obese, is itself directly involved and that it is not just diet and lifestyle that are important." Researchers examined two groups of mice, one obese and the other lean, and observed that when both were fed the same diet, the obese mice developed tumors at a higher and more rapid rate as compared to their lean counterparts.

The scientists also found that the obese mice had more adipose stromal cells (ASC's) that enter the circulation. When the stromal cells entered forming tumors, many of them turned into fat cells while others became part of the blood vessel network feeding the tumor growth. They concluded that adipose stromal cells contributed to angiogenesis, an essential component in tumor development that feeds nutrients and oxygen to fuel cancerous growth.

Dr. Kolonin concluded "Our results suggest that ASC's recruited from endogenous adipose tissue can be recruited by tumors to potentiate the supportive properties of the tumor microenvironment." In the past, researchers have associatedoverweight and obesity with increased risk for prostate, breast, ovarian, colorectal and renal cancers. This important study now explains the specific mechanism to explain how excess body fat is an independent risk factor in cancer development and progression.

Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/037892_overweight_obesity_cancer_risk.html#ixzz2EKlquHHY