ReviewBiochemical pharmacology2022
Obesity II: Establishing causal links between chemical exposures and obesity.
Erratum issued 2 registry-linked trialsOpen access · greenAbstract readReview
In one paragraph
Review in Biochemical pharmacology, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. It is linked to 2 registered trials, which are not on this map. Cited by 105 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
105citing papers in PubMed, 4 pooled it
17.7field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Understanding and Preventing the Impact of Endocrine Disruptors on the Hypothalamus-pituitary Axis in Sensitive Populations. Hypiend- Perinatal Study.
NCT07560579 naactive not recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2025, after this paper: background citation
Weight Loss and Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs): Lifestyle Interventions to Lose Weight and Reduce EDC Exposure in Individuals With Overweight/Obesity
Who cites it
105 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 180 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review of evidence that environmental contaminant exposure impedes weight loss and glycemic control during calorie-restricted diets in humans.Obesity reviews : an official journal of the International Association for the Study of Obesity · 2025Pooled it
- The Involvement of Serotonin in the Obesity Pathway-A Last Decade Systematic Review of the Literature.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Pooled it
- Effects of exercise intervention on body morphology in obese college students: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in public health · 2025Pooled it
- Sex and Gender Differences on the Impact of Metabolism-Disrupting Chemicals on Obesity: A Systematic Review.Nutrients · 2024Pooled it
- Maternal tributyltin exposure is associated with male-biased immune dysregulation across generations.Endocrinology · 2026Article
- Altered miRNA Expression Due to Bisphenol A Exposure and Associated Health Implications: A Narrative Review.Journal of xenobiotics · 2026Review
- Tea Bioactive Compounds in Obesity Prevention and Management: Processing-Dependent Composition, Molecular Mechanisms, Human Evidence, and Translational Challenges.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Maternal exposure to biosolids reshapes chemical burden and steroidogenic pathways to promote adipogenic differentiation in a sheep model.Environment international · 2026Article
- Persistent effects of pre-differentiation manganese exposure on adipogenesis and metabolic function in differentiated 3T3-L1 adipocyte cells.Journal of hazardous materials advances · 2026Article
- Review
- Plasticizing Diabetes Care: The Metabolic Threat of Plastic-Associated Endocrine Disruptors and Micro-/Nanoplastics in Clinical Medicine.Current diabetes reports · 2026Review
- Endocrine Disruptors and Gynecological Malignancies.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Hyperinsulinaemia as a cause of obesity and cardiometabolic diseases.Nature reviews. Endocrinology · 2026Review
- Determining EDC exposure: direct analytical methods are essential for accurate analysis of human biospecimens.Journal of the Endocrine Society · 2026Article
- Article
- Management of Childhood Obesity.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Nutrition, Cell Signalling, Mitochondrial Function, and Chronic Non-Communicable Disease.International journal of molecular sciences · 2026Review
- Assessment of endocrine disruptor impact on carbohydrate metabolism in the HepaRG human hepatic cell line.Archives of toxicology · 2026Article
- Identification of pharmaceuticals and environmental contaminants as obesogens inducing a locomotion-independent thrifty phenotype.Communications biology · 2026Article
- Heritable changes in chromatin contacts associated with transgenerational susceptibility to diet-induced insulin dysregulation and obesity.Nature communications · 2026Article
45 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
- Erratum issued
Authors and funding
43 authors at 20 institutions in 11 countries.
Jerrold J HeindelHealthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies, Commonweal, Bolinas, CA 92924, USA. Electronic address: jerryheindel@gmail.com.
Sarah HowardHealthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies, Commonweal, Bolinas, CA 92924, USA.
Keren Agay-ShayHealth and Environment Research (HER) Lab, The Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University, Israel.
Juan P ArrebolaDepartment of Preventive Medicine and Public Health University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
Karine AudouzeDepartment of Systems Biology and Bioinformatics, University of Paris, INSERM, T3S, Paris France.
Patrick J BabinDepartment of Life and Health Sciences, University of Bordeaux, INSERM, Pessac France.
Robert BaroukiDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Paris, INSERM, T3S, 75006 Paris, France.
Amita BansalCollege of Health & Medicine, Australian National University, Canberra, Australia.
Etienne BlancDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Paris, INSERM, T3S, 75006 Paris, France.
Matthew C CaveDivision of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40402, USA.
Saurabh ChatterjeeEnvironmental Health and Disease Laboratory, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA.
Nicolas ChevalierObstetrics and Gynecology, University of Cote d'Azur, Cote d'Azur, France.
Mahua ChoudhuryCollege of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
David CollierBrody School of Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, USA.
Lisa ConnollyThe Institute for Global Food Security, School of Biological Sciences, Queen's University, Belfast, Northern Ireland, UK.
Xavier CoumoulDepartment of Biochemistry, University of Paris, INSERM, T3S, 75006 Paris, France.
Gabriella GarrutiDepartment of Endocrinology, University of Bari "Aldo Moro," Bari, Italy.
Michael GilbertsonOccupational and Environmental Health Research Group, University of Stirling, Stirling, Scotland.
Lori A HoepnerDepartment of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, SUNY Downstate Health Sciences University, Brooklyn, NY 11203, USA.
Alison C HollowayMcMaster University, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Hamilton, Ontario, CA, USA.
George HowellCenter for Environmental Health Sciences, Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS 39762, USA.
Christopher D KassotisInstitute of Environmental Health Sciences and Department of Pharmacology, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI 48202, USA.
Mathew K KayCollege of Pharmacy, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Min Ji KimSorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, INSERM U1124 (T3S), Paris, France.
Dominique Lagadic-GossmannUniv Rennes, INSERM EHESP, IRSET UMR_5S 1085, 35000 Rennes, France.
Sophie LangouetUniv Rennes, INSERM EHESP, IRSET UMR_5S 1085, 35000 Rennes, France.
Antoine LegrandSorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, INSERM U1124 (T3S), Paris, France.
Zhuorui LiDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Helene Le MentecSorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, INSERM U1124 (T3S), Paris, France.
Lars LindClinical Epidemiology, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
P Monica LindOccupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University Hospital, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
Robert H LustigDivision of Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of California San Francisco, CA 94143, USA.
Corinne Martin-ChoulySorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, INSERM U1124 (T3S), Paris, France.
Vesna Munic KosDepartment of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institute, Solna, Sweden.
Normand PodechardSorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, INSERM U1124 (T3S), Paris, France.
Troy A RoepkeDepartment of Animal Science, School of Environmental and Biological Science, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, USA.
Robert M SargisDivision of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, The University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, Il 60612, USA.
Anne StarlingDepartment of Epidemiology, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA.
Craig R TomlinsonNorris Cotton Cancer Center, Department of Molecular and Systems Biology, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Lebanon, NH 03756, USA.
Charbel ToumaSorbonne Paris Nord University, Bobigny, INSERM U1124 (T3S), Paris, France.
Jan VondracekDepartment of Cytokinetics, Institute of Biophysics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Brno, Czech Republic.
Frederick Vom SaalDivision of Biological Sciences, The University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
Bruce BlumbergDepartment of Developmental and Cell Biology, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA 92697, USA.
Inserm · FRCommonweal · USUniversity of California, Irvine · USUppsala University · SEAustralian National University · AUBar-Ilan University · ILCzech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Biophysics · CZDartmouth College · USEast Carolina University · USKarolinska Institutet · SEMcMaster University · CAMississippi State University · USQueen's University Belfast · GBRutgers, The State University of New Jersey · USSouth Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control · USState University of New York · USTexas A&M University · USTexas A&M University System · USUniversidad de Granada · ESUniversité Côte d'Azur · FR
Funding
Translational Engineering in Cancer (TEC)P30CA023108 · NCI · DARTMOUTH COLLEGE · PI Fred W Kolling IV · 1985 to 2026
$91.3MTranslational Research Support CoreP30ES005022 · NIEHS · UNIV OF MED/DENT NJ-R W JOHNSON MED SCH · PI BRIAN T BUCKLEY · 1988 to 2026
$47.4MResearch BaseP30DK063720 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN FRANCISCO · PI GERMAN, MICHAEL S · 2003 to 2019
$21.8MPilot and Feasibility ProgramP30DK020595 · NIDDK · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI RONALD N COHEN · 2013 to 2026
$20.9MTargeting early ceramide elevation in pre-symptomatic eczemaP20GM103641 · NIGMS · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · PI ENOS, REILLY, NAGARKATTI, PRAKASH S · 2012 to 2023
$20.7MTranslational Research Support CoreP30ES025128 · NIEHS · NORTH CAROLINA STATE UNIVERSITY RALEIGH · PI Sue Fenton · 2015 to 2026
$18.3MSuperfund Training CoreP42ES023716 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE · PI HEIN, DAVID W · 2017 to 2025
$18.1MUse of Resveratrol to treat experimental multiple sclerosisP01AT003961 · NCCIH · UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA AT COLUMBIA · PI CHATTERJEE, SAURABH · 2007 to 2018
$14.2MPilot Program CoreP30ES027792 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO · PI Gokhan M. Mutlu, Gail S Prins · 2017 to 2026
$13.6MUniversity of Louisville Center for Integrative Environmental Health SciencesP30ES030283 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE · PI Amanda Jo LeBlanc · 2020 to 2026
$10.0MTransgenerational obesity caused by ancestral exposure to obesogens in utero: changes in germline genomic architecture, roles of gonadal somatic cells, and metabolomic analysis of sexual dimorphismR01ES023316 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA-IRVINE · PI BRUCE BLUMBERG, TOSHIHIRO SHIODA · 2013 to 2026
$8.3MUOFL ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCES TRAINING PROGRAMT32ES011564 · NIEHS · UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE · PI David W Hein, John Pierce Wise · 2004 to 2026
$7.1MNCCIH NIH HHS P01 AT003961NCI NIH HHS P30 CA023108NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK020595NIDDK NIH HHS P30 DK063720NIEHS NIH HHS P01 ES028942NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES005022NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES025128NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES027792NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES030283NIEHS NIH HHS P42 ES023716NIEHS NIH HHS R00 ES030405NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES023316NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES028879NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES031139NIEHS NIH HHS R01 ES032189NIEHS NIH HHS R15 ES026370NIEHS NIH HHS R15 ES026791NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES030786NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES030884NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES031510NIEHS NIH HHS R35 ES028373NIEHS NIH HHS T32 ES011564NIGMS NIH HHS P20 GM103641NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH123544
Abstract
Obesity is a multifactorial disease with both genetic and environmental components. The prevailing view is that obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure caused by overeating and insufficient exercise. We describe another environmental element that can alter the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure: obesogens. Obesogens are a subset of environmental chemicals that act as endocrine disruptors affecting metabolic endpoints. The obesogen hypothesis posits that exposure to endocrine disruptors and other chemicals can alter the development and function of the adipose tissue, liver, pancreas, gastrointestinal tract, and brain, thus changing the set point for control of metabolism. Obesogens can determine how much food is needed to maintain homeostasis and thereby increase the susceptibility to obesity. The most sensitive time for obesogen action is in utero and early childhood, in part via epigenetic programming that can be transmitted to future generations. This review explores the evidence supporting the obesogen hypothesis and highlights knowledge gaps that have prevented widespread acceptance as a contributor to the obesity pandemic. Critically, the obesogen hypothesis changes the narrative from curing obesity to preventing obesity.
Indexed as
Endocrine DisruptorsAdipogenesisAdipose TissueChild, PreschoolEnvironmental ExposureHumansObesityEndocrine DisruptorsAdipocyte differentiationEndocrine disruptorObesityObesogenWeight gain
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390
Registered trials
NCT07142447ClinicalTrials.gov
NCT07560579ClinicalTrials.gov
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.