【文章內(nèi)容簡介】
dren by age 5 and 7, but this is the first study to link the pollutant to obesity. “ It39。s a fairly big effect,” says Rundle. “ Obesity is really, really plicated, and there are different things pushing us in the wrong direction in terms of energy consumption and physical activity. I think we have to embrace the idea that the obesity epidemic is not just about you and me making personal choices that are not good for us, or moms making bad choices for kids. It39。s a far more plicated problem than that, and environmental chemicals may play a role as one piece of the problem.” Not all of the children whose moms were exposed to the higher levels of PAH became obese, but a significant proportion of them did, and the connection between PAH exposure and obesity remained strong even after Rundle39。s team adjusted for other factors that could influencing factors, including the mother39。s socioeconomic status, her ine, and the median household ine of the neighborhood in which the mothers lived. “ We went through a long list trying to imagine all the reasons that could bias the relationship or explain it away,” says Rundle. “ And after months and months of healthy