Interesting piece, Mr. Leonard; glad you're giving it some attention. I've been paying attention to the role of organochlorines as industrial pollution and byproducts of plastics manufacture since the 90s, given their tendency to mimic estrogens in organisms -- who knows precisely how much this kind of pollution will ultimately be implicated in things like infertility (e.g., ever-lowering sperm counts by way of men exposed to the false estrogens), earlier onset of puberty in girls , rise in cancers, hermaphroditism in wildlife, and now obesity -- all related to exposure to estrogens or estrogen mimics.

This is important public health stuff, and you can bet the industry will fight/counter any publicly-funded research that cuts into their profits, although I doubt the mainstream media will give it any real coverage, or else will skew in favor of the industrial position, the way they invariably do on these kinds of topics.

I'm glad you at least covered how the industry has funded some shill research to push the pro-industry position -- but I would think that their methodology could be challenged in open science forums. Usually, this kind of rearguard action by industry is meant simply to delay the inevitable regulation as long as possible, following the "tobacco science" model.

I too have thought these substance mess up people's (esp. boys') endocrine systems? metabolism? hormonal development? - I don't have the knowledge to know, but as a Mom I just think these things are bad news. We've tried so hard to reduce our kids' exposure but they're EVERYWHERE - try to find a drink that's not bottled in plastic. Sometimes I wish scientists would canvass perceptive Moms around the globe to get our senses of what's not right with the world - I think we'd all be better off.

I fear I won't be around when this shit hits the fan - that whole "Just one word: plastics" thing is a monolith that's going to take decades to dismantle, if it ever is. Our kids, in the meantime, are the canaries in the coal mine.

Thanks for publishing this.

Don't they use plastics/bisphenol A in other developed countries? Are there similar "obesity epidemics" elsewhere? Not to minimize the findings - and thanks, Slackie Onassis for your comments.

I understand that the Editors had to go with the "Make Us Fat" headline, to increase the reader eye count. Nonetheless, there are so many factors involved in making "us" fat - and not all of these factors apply to all of "us" - that it just seems ridiculous when yet another article pops up with some esoteric new theory that all of "us" fatties can now cling to, like a brownie with thick chocolate frosting, to explain why "we" can't lose weight.

Don't they use plastic in Europe? I doubt very much it is plastic. It is lack of exercise and eating too much. In other countires people rely less on their cars and use thier feet, bycles, and public transportation.

Granted I am slighlty overwight now, but was never overweight until after 55. Yesterday, while at the shopping center (upscale) my husband and I noticed how FAT the younger genrations are. All the older peope shopping were much thinner. I am constantly amazed at how BIG younger people in the 30 & 40s are today and they seem to accept it as a norm. Even though many people are exercising in thier cute little outfits at the gym and on thier cylces, they are really getting less exercise on a daily basis. Instead of moving about, they sit at thier computers, do little house or yard work, drive instead of walking.

When I was child we exercised alot more, were driven around less by our parents, and it was required we take PE all four yeas of high shcool. Sports did not subsitute to PE it was an extra curicular activity. Today Children are chauffered around to school and sports activites instead of let free to run and play or walk to school and spontaeous neighborhood games. Instead they go to higly orchestrated sports activites, then go home to play computer games. And then there is all the soda, juices, packaged prepared food. Not to mention the enormous portions of bad food served at places like Cheese Cake Factory. I am alwasy amused at the people getting Larger- than- life salads dripping with creamy drssings..and they think they are saving calories.

Just look at old news clips. Noitce how much thinner people were in the 30, 40s 50 60s 70s. There also used to be weight requirements for many jobs. Now our fire, police, service members are all large and overweight. Here's one clue. When we got sodas, in 50, 60s 70s what is now considered a SMALL was a LARGE.

While I'm sure it's true that there are a lot of factors influencing the so-called obesity epidemic, any correlation between this chemical and obesity is what's going to make this issue different. It's what's going to get it noticed by the mainstream media in a way that I'm sure it wouldn't be otherwise. Someone accuses Salon of putting "fat" in the headline just to make us read it-- well, it worked, right? It'll work with the mainstream media too, I'll bet. The obesity correlation might be the sticking point for a lot of people, and might actually effect change. So let's talk it up all we can.

By the way, I'm in my 20s, but I have my own rant about kids today and obesity: what is up with little kids toting backpacks to school on wheels? That is so lame. I burned countless calories hauling schoolbooks back and forth on my back, I'm sure! It's one thing to use wheeled luggage, but a wheeled schoolbag is just silly. At any rate, it's certainly not helping matters.

I'm at the same weight as in high school. I eat things out of plastic containers. Yet, my peers grow ever wideways. I've noticed that they still obligingly clean their plates, just like their depression-era parents insisted they do. I also see them picking up seconds. I see people in restaurants, dinner parties, picnics and buffets.

My overweight peers think I am uncharitable and claim it is genetics, big bones, slow metabolism, or Big Agriculture and that I am a Bad Person for pointing out the food-fat connection. I've been lectured to by folks to not bring up the subject in conversation, as if I were some small child who shouts "pee pee" in church.

I did do an experiment where I stopped feeding my pets corn products and they did lose weight. I pointed that out to my friends who insisted that corn on the cob, Doritos, tortilla chips and so on were not "bad" corn and that the "bad" corn was somehow squirreled away in products that those poor, dear, low income people were being force fed by Big Agriculture.

But, go ahead. Give them another talking point. I hate plastics because they pollute. If you can tell other people to do so by telling them they'll lose weight, that's fine. They'll tell you that somehow, magically, Trader Joe's prepared meals in plastic are OK, because its, you know "organic".