A chemical link to obesity?

New studies are raising concerns that chemicals widely used in the plastics industry may be linked to our obesity epidemic. Link: Chemicals May Play Role in Rise in Obesity - washingtonpost.com.
These chemicals, which can act like hormones in the body, are called endocrine disruptors. Now researchers say they have seen some of these same chemicals promote fat-regulating cells in labratory mice, causing the cells to reproduce – and making the mice obese.
Scientists point out that these chemicals are widespread in our environment. One of the so-called endocrine diruptors, bisphenol A, was found in 95 percent of the people tested – at amounts at or beyond the levels observed to affect the lab animals. It is commonly used in the manufacturing of many plastic items, such as the lining in food containers and in baby bottles.