Sicker, Fatter, Poorer

The Urgent Threat of Hormone-Disrupting Chemicals to Our Health and Future . . . and What We Can Do About It

Leonardo Trasande

• Publisher: Harvest
• Year: 2019
• Print ISBN: 9780358410966
• eBook ISBN: 9781328553805
• Subtopic: Health Policy

A leading voice in public health policy and top environmental medicine scientist reveals the alarming truth about how hormone-disrupting chemicals are affecting our daily lives—and what we can do to protect ourselves and fight back. 

Lurking in our homes, hiding in our offices, and polluting the air we breathe is something sinister. Something we’ve turned a blind eye to for far too long. Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician, professor, and world-renowned researcher, tells the story of how our everyday surroundings are making us sicker, fatter, and poorer.
 
Dr. Trasande exposes the chemicals that disrupt our hormonal systems and damage our health in irreparable ways. He shows us where these chemicals hide—in our homes, our schools, at work, in our food, and countless other places we can’t control—as well as the workings of policy that protects the continued use of these chemicals in our lives. Drawing on extensive research and expertise, he outlines dramatic studies and emerging evidence about the rapid increases in neurodevelopmental, metabolic, reproductive, and immunological diseases directly related to the hundreds of thousands of chemicals that we are exposed to every day. Unfortunately, nowhere is safe.
 
But, thanks to Dr. Trasande’s work on the topic, and his commitment to effecting change, this book can help. Through a blend of narrative, scientific detective work, and concrete information about the connections between chemicals and disease, he shows us what we can do to protect ourselves and our families in the short-term, and how we can help bring the change we deserve. 

Index

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

A

acanthosis, 77

acetaminophen, 109–10

acetylcholinesterase, 54

adenosis, 114

ADHD (attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder)

diagnosing, 67

economic costs, 68

and flame retardants, 67

and food dyes, 109

increasing rates of, 47–48

and thyroid dysfunction, 50

adiponectin, 86, 88

African Americans, 63, 78, 119

Agent Orange, 112

age of menarche, 119

agouti mice, 90–91

air pollution, 84–86

Allen, Will, 19

aluminum cans, 25, 34, 64, 70, 139

Amazon, 155

American Academy of Pediatrics, 9

American diet, 72

androgen activity, 122

aniline, 109

animal lab experiments, 54–55, 56

animals and wildlife, and EDCs, 23–24, 26

anogenital distance (AGD), 107, 109

antagonism, 124

antimicrobial soaps, 120

aromatase, 129–30

arrhythmia, 81

arsenic, 14, 112

arthritis, 110

asbestos, 15

asparagus, 136

assisted reproductive technology (ART), 104, 115. See also IVF treatments

asymmetric information, 147

atrazine, 129–30

Attina, Teresa, 85

autism

case study, 45–48

diagnosis of, 47

high-functioning, 47

research on, 68–70

and thyroid dysfunction, 50

autoimmune conditions, 52

B

baby bottles, 33, 34, 64

Barker, David, 74

Belcher, Scott, 12

benzophenones, 120, 139

“bioengineered” foods, 137

Birnbaum, Linda, 31, 66

birth defects

and BPA, 30

in DES sons, 22

and fracking, 124

birth rates, 104

birth weight, low. See low birth weight

bisphenols. See also BPA

alternatives to, 92

and diabetes, 72

“hit-and-run” impact, 7

and ...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Contents
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Introduction
• The Age of Endocrine Disruption
• What’s Going On?
• Following the Hormonal Clues
• How Chemicals Hurt
• The Attack on the Brain and Nervous System
• Metabolic Mix-Ups: Obesity and Diabetes
• A Real-Life Children of Men?
• The Chemical Vulnerability of Girls and Women
• Taking Action
• Real Steps That Make a Difference
• Your Voice Matters: How You Can Participate in a Virtuous Circle
• Acknowledgments
• References
• Index
• About the Author
• Connect with HMH