Obesity and Environmental Pollutants

Obesity is a global health problem in recent years. Adipose tissue was known as a storage tissue increasing with rise of the body mass index the indicator of obesity. The endocrine functions of adipose tissue might contribute to obesity, diabetes mellitus, cancer and infertility. Many environmental chemicals affect actions of hormones so these chemicals have been defined as endocrine-disrupting chemicals(EDCs) or endocrine disruptors. With the increase in production of EDCs in the world parallels the global obesity prevalence increases. The reported rise in obesity of children under 2 years of age is also suggestive of alterations during development. In early life EDCs exposure can influence epigenetic programming of obesity. These pollutants can pass from mother to fetus via placenta and breast feeding. Some obesogens are found in nature such as phytoestrogens and the others are mostly synthetic chemicals. These chemicals commonly found in pesticides /herbicides, industrial and household products, plastics detergents and personal care products. These substances are defined persistant organic pollutant (POPs) and they accumulate in adipose tissue. Common EDSs are Tributyltin (TBT), 4-Nonylphenol used in industry, persistent organochlorines (POPs) used in agriculture industry, diethylstilboestrol (DES) as a pharmaceutical, bisphenol A (BPA) and phthalates used in plastics, parabens as preservatives, phytoestrogens in edible plants, polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) as flame retardants. We searched current literature with the key words: obesogens, POPs, endocrine disruptors in pubmed and filtered the results with articles in recent 5 years. This mini reviewprovides current experience about association between obesity and endocrine disrupting chemicals.