We all know that convenience foods typically have questionable nutritional value, but is their packaging also making us fat? A new study has found that there may be a link between the chemicals found in some food packaging and obesity. The study discovered that a group of overweight young girls had increased levels of phthalates in their bodies compared to “the general population of children”.
It turns out that phthalates, chemicals that add to the “flexibility, transparency, durability, and longevity” of plastics, can not only disrupt hormones, but they can attach to fat cells causing them to grow. It’s disturbing to think that food packaging has the ability to leach chemicals into our bodies, but plastics have been doing this for years. Food safety reformists are still fighting to ban the chemical BPA from food and beverage packaging containers despite links to increased health risks.
So be careful when purchasing those heavily packaged food products, especially those with recycling codes 3 or 7. The extra plastic wrapping is not only bad for the environment, it’s also bad for your body.
Image via detritus
