Plastic is not only harming our planet, it may also be making us fat

CHOOSING tap water over bottled water is not only good for the environment. Recent research suggests that plastic can also contribute to weight gain. Its compounds can have a disruptive effect on metabolism.

Plastic has already been identified as having a disruptive effect on fertility, as phthalates, which are found in all our everyday objects, reduce the production of testosterone in men, the hormone that stimulates the production of spermatozoa. And now we learn plastic also makes you fat!

That's the surprising finding of a scientific study conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, in partnership with the Goethe University in Frankfurt. Yogurt containers, water bottles, kitchen sponges: in total, 34 everyday objects were examined, and no less than 55,000 chemical components were found in the products.

Of the 629 substances that were identified, 11 are known as metabolism-disrupting chemicals. Even worse, they can be a factor of being overweight or obese.

The researchers note that chemical substances found in a third of the plastic products in this study contributed to the development of cells that have the task of storing lipids. In their presence, the cells grew in number and accumulated more fat.

Even more worryingly, plastic items were also found to contain chemicals that have not been identified as problematic previously but which "induced development of fat cells."

It is known that substances in plastic can migrate into food, particularly when the container is heated. Food packaged in plastic should be stored in this way for as little time as possible.