Chemical compounds found in many consumer products could be major contributors to the onset of lipid-related diseases, such as obesity, in humans, according to a Baylor University study.
Until recently, scientists thought diseases such as obesity and fatty liver resulted from anomalies in the metabolism of lipids triggered by excessive energy intake, fat consumption and lack of physical activity. But the Baylor study, published in the international journal Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology, highlights the existence of chemical compounds people are exposed to via a variety of consumer products. These can lead to lipid-related metabolic diseases and weight gain.
“Previous studies have provided strong evidence linking some hormone-like compounds to obesity in humans, but this is the first study that showed a cellular and metabolic effect on human cells exposed directly to those compounds,” said Ramon Lavado, Ph.D., assistant professor of environmental science at Baylor.
Lavado’s team has been conducting experiments to determine whether their suspicion that obesogens — specific chemical compounds found to disrupt normal metabolic processes — promoted a dysregulation of lipid profiles in the human liver.
Read more at Baylor University
Photo: Maria Teresa Fernandez-Luna, Ph.D., Baylor University lecturer in biology (Baylor University photo)