BPA and Obesity: Is This Connection Real?

In This Article

Best Evidence Review of Association Between Urinary Bisphenol A and Obesity in Children and Adolescents
Description of the Study
Commentary
References

Best Evidence Review of Association Between Urinary Bisphenol A and Obesity in Children and Adolescents

The Study

Trasande L, Attina TM, Blustein J. Association between urinary bisphenol A concentration and obesity prevalence in children and adolescents. JAMA. 2012;308:1113-1121.

The Background

Bisphenol A (BPA) has generated much attention in the past several years regarding its potential deleterious effects on health, but the evidence implicating BPA in promoting human disease is thin. In the current study, urinary concentrations of BPA above the first quartile of values were associated with a higher rate of obesity among children and adolescents, even after adjustment for multiple confounding variables. Regulators should continue to work with industry to evaluate safer alternatives to this chemical.

The potential risk associated with BPA is one of the hottest topics in public health and toxicology. While the precise health dangers of BPA are not clearly defined at this time, the ubiquity of the BPA compound is undeniable. Approximately 6 billion pounds of BPA are produced annually.^[1]BPA is used in a variety of ways, but health concerns associated with BPA are primarily related to its use in contact with food and liquids consumed by humans, particularly in its use as a liner in food cans and other storage containers as well as in pipes that supply drinking water.