obesogen

Obesogen is a backformation from obesogenic, a relatively recent word meaning ‘tending to cause obesity’.  In the 1980s this was an adjective mostly applied to diets and unhealthy living styles. The obesogen is the name given to a chemical that promotes weight gain by increasing the activity of cells that store fat or, alternatively, inhibiting their ability to release that store as energy.

The scientists involved in this research say that we should not be surprised to learn that there are obesogens. We all know that there are some medications (chemicals) that produce weight gain as a secondary effect. But the list of obesogens has expanded and covers chemicals that are now common in our environment.  Plastics are producers of obesogens, as are forever chemicals (see my blog). Moreover, once an obesogen has activated cells to store fat, that tendency can be passed on.  Your obesity may be something that you have inherited from your grandmother and something that you can do nothing about. Diets and healthy lifestyles won’t help you once the tendency to gain weight is in your genes.