Fetal Exposure To Organochlorine Pesticides Tied To Increased Risk For Being Overweight At Age Seven.

reports that a study published online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives suggests that “fetal exposure to endocrine-disrupting environmental pesticides called organochlorines” may be “associated with increased risk for being overweight at age” seven. After measuring “concentrations of suspected EDCs in 470 pregnant women enrolled in the Environment and Childhood Project from 2004 to 2006,” then measuring youngsters’ height at age seven, then adjusting for confounding factors, “investigators found that children with the highest level of exposure had significant increases in BMI compared with children with the lowest exposure level for the following organochloride chemicals:” hexachlorobenzene, beta-hexachlorocyclohexane, polychlorinated biphenyl, polychlorinated biphenyl 180, and dichlordiphenyldichloroethylene. http://www.medpagetoday.com/Endocrinology/GeneralEndocrinology/51510