BPA is a main ingredient of polycarbonate, the hard, rigid plastic used in some food and water containers, as well as resins in the liners of some canned food and beverages.

Currently 11 U.S. states have banned BPA in some products, and in July the U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned the chemical from baby bottles and sippy cups.

The FDA rejected a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council to ban BPA in food containers but says it is awaiting results of government studies into its potential health risks.

This article originally ran at Environmental Health News, a news source published by Environmental Health Sciences, a nonprofit media company.

8 Comments

1. 1. nmlevesque 11:32 PM 9/18/12

   Wait so this study dealt with children after they became obese, and they suggest that the majority of exposure comes from diet, so if you eat more you have a higher exposure to BPA? Am I missing anything here?

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2. 2. jtdwyer in reply to nmlevesque 11:12 AM 9/19/12

   My thought exactly - perhaps children who eat more (especially expensively packaged junk food) become obese!
   
   This most straightforward possible causal factor doesn't seem to have been considered...

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3. 3. cccoolin 12:43 PM 9/19/12

   Dear Fellow Readers:
   Here is a link to the National Public Radio presentation on this subject with a very different conclusion.
   http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/09/18/161340024/link-between-bpa-and-childhood-obesity-is-unclear
   Thank You.

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4. 4. R.Blakely 04:18 AM 9/21/12

   BPA, a trace chemical in some plastics, is insignificant in its effects compared to the effects of trace chemicals in sugar and salt. We consume large amounts of sugar and salt and hardly any plastic, but fear mongers want us to imagine that BPA is the problem.
   We should realize that much of the sugar and salt that we consume is not even free of bacteria since it has not been sterilized properly, for example.
   We should realize that the main reason that we live so long is because our water is treated with chlorine; it is not because of low BPA in plastic. We need research on real problems instead of minor problems.

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5. 5. Greenberet in reply to cccoolin 05:37 AM 9/21/12

   Thank you for your link!

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6. 6. jtdwyer in reply to cccoolin 07:29 AM 9/21/12

   Yes - thanks very much for the NPR link.
   It's refreshing to see some unbiased, in-depth reporting!

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7. 7. caryresearchgroup 06:28 PM 9/22/12

   This study does not provide sufficient evidence to establish a link between obesity and BPA levels, however, BPA is a documented known toxin. It does not belong in packaging for food.

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8. 8. bucketofsquid 01:38 PM 9/26/12

   If BPA is not used in food packaging then it will not build up to toxic levels in the bodies of people that are not exposed to it in some other way. A quick check of the Mayo Clinic web site shows that health researchers are moderately concerned about the impact of BPA. There is a direct correlation between the introduction of BPA in the 1960s and the onset of increased sterility and increased obesity in the U.S. population. Correlation is not Causation and so the Mayo Clinic wisely withholds judgement until further research is done.
   
   The only people saying it is harmless are the people that make and sell it. Hardly neutral but they may still be correct.

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