The Environmental Health Perspectives journal recently published a study that draws attention to the possible impacts of levels of a chemical called DDE upon newborn children. In the study, it was seen that mothers who had higher levels of DDE in their blood stream were more likely to have babies, who grew rapidly in the first 6 months of life. Also those babies were likelier to have a high body mass index by the time they crossed 14 months of age.
DDE is a byproduct of DDT, a common pesticide and the impact of this chemical was examined in a Spanish study in Barcelona.
Women having normal weight themselves, but having higher concentrations of DDE in their blood, were seen to have babies who were twice as likely to grow fast during the first six months of life and be overweight at the age of 14 months. And this rapid growth was seen to be promoted right from the birth of the babies.
According to a statement issued by the lead author of the study, lead author and epidemiologist Michelle A. Mendez, of the Centre for Research in Environmental Epidemiology, “exposure to chemicals with endocrine-disrupting properties might promote shifts in appetite regulation, but may also promote obesity through metabolic changes.”
