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| Babies exposed to certain chemicals in the womb may have a higher risk of weight and health-related issues later in life. Credit: Drpoulette/Wikimedia Commons |
by Adam Wernick, Living on Earth,
12 December 2015
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Some common chemicals ingested during pregnancy could be associated with obesity in offspring, according to a new study.
Dr. Joseph Braun, assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown University, conducted an observational study that found that some children born in the Cincinnati area downstream from an industrial dumping site have more fat as young children if their mothers had high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid in their blood during pregnancy.
Scientists cannot purposely expose people to toxic chemicals, but inadvertent chemical exposures from dumping can provide epidemiologists with unique opportunities to investigate the possible effects chemicals and other products can have on human health.
Dr. Joseph Braun, assistant professor of epidemiology at Brown University, conducted an observational study that found that some children born in the Cincinnati area downstream from an industrial dumping site have more fat as young children if their mothers had high levels of the chemical perfluorooctanoic acid in their blood during pregnancy.
Scientists cannot purposely expose people to toxic chemicals, but inadvertent chemical exposures from dumping can provide epidemiologists with unique opportunities to investigate the possible effects chemicals and other products can have on human health.