Toxic environment and obesity pandemia: is there a relationship?

Obesity is a multi-factorial disease, resulting from genes, environment and behaviour interactions, and represents the most common metabolic disorder in the Western Hemisphere. Its prevalence has dramatically risen during the last three decades, reaching worldwide epidemic proportions. Recent cumulating evidence suggests that obesity may represent an adverse health consequence of exposure during the critical developmental windows to environmental chemicals disrupting endocrine function. Moreover, exposure to these chemicals seems to play a key role in the development of obesity-related metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. Further research is needed to elucidate the relationship between this exposure and the obesity pandemia and the involved mechanisms as well as to refine hazard identification.