Endocrine disrupters: Gender benders increasing male obesity?

By 27. June 2014Blog, Health, Risk Management

Following on from the last blog another obesity one for you. This time scientists have looked at obesity rates in men and women in developed and developing nations and have come to a worrying conclusion.  Endocrine disrupters that mimic female hormones could be increasing the obesity rates in men.

Believe it or not, women are more likely to be obese than men. According to the publication in the journal PLOSone this trend is evident in developing nations. However, in developed nations the percentage of obese men and obese women are very similar meaning that something is responsible for increasing male weight gain disproportionately to female gain. Welcome back to the fray endocrine disrupters, pesky molecules that mimic female hormones (Click here to see a previous blog on the matter).

The researchers single out soy and polyvinyl chloride (PVC) as sources of the endocrine disruptors that could be the culprits. Before those poor lactose intolerant soy milk drinking men among us freak out take heart, in research presented at the joint meeting of the International Society of Endocrinology and the Endocrine Society: ICE/ENDO 2014 in Chicago earlier this month, soy protein supplements did not decrease testosterone levels in men. The debate continues…

Click here to read the paper on the PLOS One website.

Click here to read about the ICE/ENDO research reported on the Sciencedaily website.