Updated: Thu, 02/13/2025 - 09:17

Due to today’s storm, classes are cancelled. Please note that campuses remain open, including Libraries, according to their schedules. For details, see the Alert email.


En raison de la tempête, les cours à sont annulés aujourd’hui. Veuillez noter que les campus restent ouverts, y compris les bibliothèques selon leurs horaires. Pour plus de détails, voir le courriel d'alerte.

News

ACSH - Innocent Plastics Wrongly Blamed For Belly Bulge

Published: 20 August 2010

ACSH staffers offer Wall Street Journal reporter Allysia Finley a seat at the table for her piece underscoring the lack of evidence supporting the claim that phthalates and BPA have contributed to the obesity epidemic. According to Stephen Perrine and Heather Hurlock, authors of The New American Diet, “obesogenic” foods  — those containing pesticides and plastics — allow our bodies to store more fat. As Ms. Finley aptly points out, however, these chemicals have been prevalent for over 50 years, while obesity did not significantly increase until about 1980.

Chemist Dr. Joe Schwarcz at ’s Office for Science and Society further debunks claims that the trace levels of chemicals found in foods have an effect on obesity. “Every day people are exposed to hundreds of thousands of natural and artificial chemicals which would show very similar effects if run through these sensitive tests,” he tells the Journal.

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