(no subject)
Jul. 20th, 2004 07:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
pantryslutThe article isn't available online (unless you're a member), but Science News has a short piece this week on one of the more fascinating weight-loss science tidbits I've ever run across.
It seems that the sharp drop in metabolic rate that some dieters experience might be explained by -- industrial pollution.
Fat cells encapsulate certain classes of industrial pollutants, such as synthetic organochlorines. When those fat cells shrink during weight loss, those compounds are released into the bloodstream.
After this point, things are unclear. Scientists have demonstrated a correlation between high concentrations of these compounds in the blood and the metabolism slowdown in question, but that's all. The mechanism is still unknown, but there's speculation that these compounds poison individual mitochondria. There also might be some other way the body is readjusting the metabolic rate to regulate the concentrations of these bloodstream pollutants.
I like to entertain the idea that "the obesity epidemic" is actually caused by increased industrial pollutants. That is, we're getting fatter so as to have more places to store these compounds safely, inside our own bodies. As long as they're trapped in the fat cells, we're OK. Healthier, in fact.
Heh. There's a story in there.
It seems that the sharp drop in metabolic rate that some dieters experience might be explained by -- industrial pollution.
Fat cells encapsulate certain classes of industrial pollutants, such as synthetic organochlorines. When those fat cells shrink during weight loss, those compounds are released into the bloodstream.
After this point, things are unclear. Scientists have demonstrated a correlation between high concentrations of these compounds in the blood and the metabolism slowdown in question, but that's all. The mechanism is still unknown, but there's speculation that these compounds poison individual mitochondria. There also might be some other way the body is readjusting the metabolic rate to regulate the concentrations of these bloodstream pollutants.
I like to entertain the idea that "the obesity epidemic" is actually caused by increased industrial pollutants. That is, we're getting fatter so as to have more places to store these compounds safely, inside our own bodies. As long as they're trapped in the fat cells, we're OK. Healthier, in fact.
Heh. There's a story in there.
