June 8, 2023 – Exposure to toxic “forever chemicals” while pregnant can result in lower birth weight and later obesity – much like the results of prenatal tobacco exposure.
These findings were published in a brand new study by Environmental health perspectives.
“Something similar is happening with PFAS,” said Joe Braun, a researcher at Brown University and co-author of the study, in The guard.
PFAS (polyfluorinated alkyl substances) is a bunch of about 15,000 chemicals added to a wide selection of consumer products. They have been linked to serious health problems, including a better risk of cancer, thyroid disease and birth defects. They don’t break down naturally within the environment and have even been present in all 30,000 cord blood samples in various studies.
“Although previous research has found evidence that the chemicals are linked to obesity in early and later life, including some by the authors of the new study, the results were generally inconclusive,” wrote The Guardian. “The authors say the new research is clearer because it included a larger sample, greater geographic coverage, a longer time period and a wider range of exposure levels.”
Braun said that babies born underweight as a consequence of PFAS may gain weight quickly, but not in height – with weight gain occurring earlier in children who aren’t of normal weight. An analogous process occurs in children whose moms smoked while pregnant.