The chemical bisphenol-A, or BPA, has a long and controversial history.
Used to manufacture some plastics – like the kinds in soda or water bottles – and as an anti-corrosive in aluminum cans, BPA has been under fire for some time from consumer advocacy groups.
The FDA recently banned BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups after concerns were raised about potential side effects on the “brain, behavior, and prostate gland in fetuses, infants, and young children,” according to the FDA website.
Still, the organization has stood by the overall safety of the chemical; in March the FDA denied the Natural Resources Defense Council’s petition to ban BPA outright.
Now a new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association is adding more fuel to the flames. The paper shows an association between BPA levels in children’s urine and obesity prevalence.
Read - Chemical BPA linked to children's obesity
"The paper shows an association between BPA levels in children’s urine and obesity prevalence." Perhaps because the obese children are drinking more soda and eating more junk food in plastic wrappers than the others??
Mind you, I am avoiding BPA to begin with, but I doubt there is a good direct link between BPA and obesity.
soda and water bottles are usually made of PETE, which while it can leave a chemical residue, it is normally of one of the reagents, namely some sort of phthalate. I was under the impression that BPA wasn't normally used in the production of PETE plastic.