Plastic is a necessary evil! As its usage is growing, its harmful effects are also growing. Many alarming studies have demonstrated the ways plastics enter our food chain and make their way into the human body.
Micro-plastics when reaches our stomach, part of it is excreted, but part of it is also getting entrapped in the stomach and intestinal lining. These can also move freely in body fluids like blood, thereby reaching various organs and tissues of the body.
Recently scientists at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have discovered that plastic consumer products contain chemicals that may contribute to weight gain.
Plastics contain thousands of chemicals
Some of these can affect your metabolism by promoting the growth of fat cells, or adipocytes. Researchers examined 34 different plastic products like yogurt containers and water bottles in the laboratory. Researchers discovered over 55,000 different chemical components in these products and identified 629 of the substances. Eleven of these were found to be metabolism-disrupting chemicals.
Martin Wagner, an associate professor in the NTNU Department of Biology, “Our experiments show that ordinary plastic products contain a mix of substances that can be a relevant and underestimated factor behind overweight and obesity,”
The results of this study have been published in Environmental Science & Technology.
