Banned in European Union countries since 2020, the pesticide chlorpyrifos, pinned as a neurotoxic and endocrine disruptor, would also promote obesity by slowing the burning of calories in brown adipose tissue.
- Conducted on mice, the study shows that chlorpyrifos slows down the functioning of brown fat cells, involved in burning calories.
- By inhibiting the functioning of these cells, chlorpyrifos would slow the burning of 40 calories per day, which would translate into an additional weight gain of 2.25 kilos per year.
Is chlorpyrifos, a controversial pesticide regularly sprayed on fruits and vegetables, involved in the global obesity crisis?
This is suggested by a new study conducted by McMaster University (Canada) and published in NatureCommunications. According to its authors, chlorpyrifos slows the burning of calories in brown adipose tissue, causing the body to store those extra calories.
A pesticide banned in France but still present on imported goods
Pinned in 2015 by a report of the NGO Pesticide Action Network (PAN Europe) as the most common endocrine disrupting pesticide on fruits and vegetables, chlorpyrifos was authorized for the cultivation of plants in France until 2016, before being tolerated only for spinach cultivation. It was permanently banned within the European Union in January 2020, but continues to be sprayed on goods imported into Europe.
To analyze the effects of chlorpyrifos on brown fat cells, the researchers tested it among 33 other commonly used pesticides and herbicides in mice fed a high-calorie diet.
“Brown fat is the metabolic furnace of our body, it burns calories, unlike normal fat which is used to store them. This generates heat and prevents calories from depositing on our body as normal white fat. We know that brown fat is activated by cold and when we eat”explains Gregory Steinberg, professor of medicine and co-director of the Center for Metabolism, Obesity, and Diabetes Research at McMaster.
“Lifestyle changes in diet and exercise rarely lead to sustained weight loss. We believe part of the problem may be this intrinsic slowing of the metabolic furnace by chlorpyrifos.”
An estimated weight gain of 2.25 kilos per year
The results highlighted the inhibitory action of chlorpyrifos on brown fat cells: the pesticide toxins slow down cell function. According to Professor Steinberg, it would be enough for chlorpyrifos to inhibit the use of energy in brown fat by 40 calories per day to trigger obesity in adults, which would result in an additional weight gain of 2.25 kilograms per year.
“Although the results have not yet been confirmed in humans, it is important, whenever possible, to consume fruits and vegetables from local sources and, if you consume imported products, to make sure that they are well washed”concludes the researcher.
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