M6.7 Obesogens

According to the Seasonal Food Guide, as of late September in California, these are some of my favorite foods in season:

• apples
• Asian pears
• Avocados
• broccoli
• bok choy
• cantaloupe
• mushrooms
• persimmons 
• potatoes
• winter squash
• watermelon

I am surprised watermelon is on the list because I thought it was a summer fruit and my family mostly eat them during the summer. My family likes to eat seasonally, so in my household, I usually have Asian pears, persimmons, and apples around this time. I think it is a great idea for hospitals to serve seasonal and locally grown foods because similar to what the article is stating, this can model healthy eating behaviors. It is ironic for hospitals to serve unhealthy foods to patients who are ill.

I have never heard of obesogens until this class. And until reading this article, I always thought obesity was caused by poor diet, not from a chemical compound. Learning that obesogens can alter people's metabolism and predispose them to weight gain suggest that there are other interventions to address obesity other than pushing people to eat healthier and exercise more. 

One of the obesogens I searched up on Toxnet is perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). It is used in fire-fighting application, cosmetics, greases and lubricants, paints, polishes, and adhesives. Workers who produce or use PFOA can breathe it in or have direct skin contact. With the general population, they can breathe it in, consume it through food and water, and have direct skin contact. PFOA is found in small amounts of blood and is extremely persistent. In some human studies, exposure to PFOA was associated with increased cholesterol levels, increased risk of high blood pressure, thyroid disease, and liver damage.