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Pulling back the curtains on wage-theft enforcement in MN; Trump's latest attack is on RFK, Jr; NM LGBTQ+ equality group endorses 2024 'Rock Star' candidates; Michigan's youth justice reforms: Expanded diversion, no fees.

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Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg says rebuilding Baltimore's Key Bridge will be challenging and expensive. An Alabama Democrat flips a state legislature seat and former Connecticut senator Joe Lieberman dies at 82.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

New JAMA Study Links BPA and Obesity

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Wednesday, September 19, 2012   

DETROIT - A new study cites a link between obesity and a chemical found in food packaging such as plastics and aluminum cans.

Bisphenol-A (BPA) has been banned from use in baby bottles and toddlers' "sippy cups," because scientists say it interferes with hormones. Researchers in the new study found higher BPA levels in obese teens and children than in those who were not obese.

That finding does not mean that the chemical causes obesity, says Dr. Jennifer Lowry, a toxicologist at Children's Mercy Hospitals and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo. It just shows a link, she says, but adds that parents should try to limit children's exposure to chemicals. She admits that's not easy.

"There are 80,000 chemicals that are regulated by EPA, and yet we only know maybe about 2,000 of them in any large degree, on the health effects that occur from them."

While some aluminum cans contain BPA, Lowry says canned vegetables should not necessarily be removed from a child's diet, especially if they are the only vegetables a family can afford. Until more studies are done, she thinks the risk of eating an unhealthy diet is worse than the risk of eating vegetables from a can.

It's pretty much impossible to get away from using plastic altogether, Lowry says. However, she says she never microwaves her food in plastic because, when damaged, the chemicals it contains can get into the food.

"So, even if I have macaroni and cheese stored in my butter container in my refrigerator, when I go to heat it up, I put it into a glass container."

Lowry says it's always a good idea to read labels and try to eat foods with the least amount of chemicals.

"If you don't understand what the first five ingredients are on the ingredients list, it's probably not something you want to put into your body."

The study appears in the September issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. While BPA is no longer used in baby bottles, the study raises questions about its use in products used by older children.

The study is online at jamanetwork.com.


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