3 ms·
There is a cause and effect problem here, it's possible that modern economies are producing environmental contaminants which cause obesity and other problems (
by lumost 6y ago
There is a cause and effect problem here, it's possible that modern economies are producing environmental contaminants which cause obesity and other problems ( hormone disruptors are complex ).
The trend of obesity and declining birth rates is common across all developed economies. As a possibility, the accumulation of non-degradable hormone disruptors may have a cumulative effect causing the problem to grow as the decades go on.
- klmadfejno 6y agoIt is possible, but I think, unlikely to be nearly as important as change in diets. The poor are much fatter than the wealthy. Do we really think its because they're exposed to more hormone disruptors? Or is it a terrible diet because they don't have the time and resources and knowledge and stress to eat healthier? Contaminants are probably a problem, and could accumulate non linearly into an even bigger problem. But obesity is almost certainly a diet problem. The poor are much more likely to eat high calorie, low nutrient food. Homeless people are increasingly both hungry and fat. I don't think its especially controversial to say that's the likely outcome if you were to just remove these chemicals back to 1800s levels.
- lumost 6y agoWhile poor diet is certainly the leading hypothesis, the universality of the effect across both Human and Animal populations is worth further consideration. The poor are vastly more likely to live in areas of higher industrial runoff, to use older materials/homes/appliances, have poorer water quality, and have fewer resources to counteract negative effects in the environment.