• Learn About Colony Collapse Disorder and How to Protect Bees
  • Grow a Lush Garden Organically
  • Learn To Manage Weeds Without Chemical Pesticides
  • LIving Near Fields Increases Pesticide Exposure
  • Learn to Keep Insects Out of your Crops
  • Weeds Can Be Managed Without Chemical Pesticides
  • SNAP Tour of Organic Vegetable Garden
  • Driving Near Recently Sprayed Fields Exposes People to Pesticides
  • Learn About Pesticides in Foods
  • Learn to Manage Pests Naturally

Diabetes/Obesity

also see glyphosatefood 

Pesticide Exposure Linked to Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes, and Metabolic Disease in Seniors    (Beyond Pesticides, February 27, 2024) Popular culture and official policy continue to ignore a blatant source of the rise in obesity: chemical exposures, including pesticides. A study, “Associations of chronic exposure to a mixture of pesticides and type 2 diabetes mellitus in a Chinese elderly population,” contributes to the now-massive trove of evidence linking pesticides to diseases and shows that by the time people reach retirement age they are suffering from a heavy burden of contamination that raises their risk of complex disease... The researchers from the Shanghai Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention identified 39 pesticides in the study populationWomen had slightly higher levels and a stronger correlation between obesity, pesticide burden and type 2 diabetes than men. The most significant contributors were β-Hexachlorocyclohexane (β-BHC) and oxadiazon.    SNAP Comments: There are/were 0 β-Hexachlorocyclohexane (β-BHC) products and 2 oxadiazon products registered in Canada until 2023-03-16.  

Farmed Salmon Just as Toxic to Human Health as Junk Food   (Beyond Pesticides, June 16, 2022) 'Farmed salmon serves as an inferior food source, accumulating more toxic chemicals in fatty tissue with fewer healthy nutrient properties based on a study from the University of Bergen, Norway and Alternative Medicine Review. '   'the issue of toxic chemical contamination in fish dates back decades' including from 'dioxin (a by-product of pesticide manufacturing), and ethoxyquin (a pesticide preservative in fish feed). The aquaculture industry (e.g., farmed seafood/fish) repeatedly faces sustainability issues, failing to adhere to environmental regulations and threatening marine health. Extensive use of pesticides in local marine ecosystems has induced coastal habitat loss and increased genetic and health risks to wild marine populations. Moreover, insecticides used to kill salmon parasites (e.g., fish lice) has led to widespread disease persistence and pest resistance. Marine species biodiversity is rapidly declining due to overfishing, global warming, pathogens, and pollution.'   'Food analysis results find the consumption of farmed salmon fillets contributes to higher rates of metabolic disorders, including diabetes and obesity. These farmed salmon also contain levels of toxins, including PCBs and dioxin, that are five times higher than levels in other tested foods.'

New study finds glyphosate causes disease across several generations   (The Organic and non-GMO Report, May 2, 2019)    "But writing in the journal Scientific Reports, the researchers say they saw “dramatic increases” in several pathologies affecting the second and third generations. The second generation had “significant increases” in testis, ovary, and mammary gland diseases, as well as obesity. In third-generation males, the researchers saw a 30 percent increase in prostate disease—three times that of a control population. The third generation of females had a 40 percent increase in kidney disease, or four times that of the controls.  More than one-third of the second-generation mothers had unsuccessful pregnancies, with most of those affected dying. Two out of five males and females in the third generation were obese."

Farmers’ Greater Risk of Diabetes Linked to Pesticide Exposure  (Beyond Pesticides, September, 2017) A recently released report, Gallup-Sharecare State of Well-Being: The Face of Diabetes in the United States, looks at high diabetes rates across various U.S. demographic groups, including those in farming. People working in the transportation sector registered the highest incidence of diagnosed diabetes at 10.6%. But those working as farmers and fishermen came in second, with 8.5% reporting a diagnosis of the disease.

Study Links Carbamate Insecticides to Diabetes and other Metabolic Diseases (Beyond Pesticides, January 25, 2017) A study conducted at the University of Buffalo recently revealed a connection between two common insecticides and an increased risk for certain metabolic diseases, including diabetes. Researchers found that by binding to and disrupting melatonin receptors that control numerous physiological functions, chemicals such as insecticides can affect melatonin levels, creating a higher risk for metabolic diseases to develop... The implicated chemicals in this research, carbaryl and carbofuran, are notoriously dangerous carbamate insecticides.SNAP Comment: Independent research once more finding health issues with pesticides. As of this writing, there are still 30 carbaryl insecticide products available in Canada and none with carbofuran. Canada's Cabofuran registration expired at the end of 2012. 

Chemical toxins: a hypothesis to explain the global obesity epidemic. (Apr 2002)  The number of obese people worldwide has escalated recently. There is more evidence to indicate that the body's natural weight-control mechanisms are not functioning properly in obesity. During the last few decades, there has been the exponential production and usage of synthetic organic and inorganic chemicals. Many of these chemicals are better known for causing weight loss at high levels of exposure but much lower concentrations of these same chemicals have powerful weight-promoting actions. This property has already been widely exploited commercially to produce growth hormones that fatten livestock and pharmaceuticals that induce weight gain in grossly underweight patients. This paper presents a hypothesis that the current level of human exposure to these chemicals may have damaged many of the body's natural weight-control mechanisms. Furthermore, it is posited that these effects play a significant role in the worldwide obesity epidemic.

Long-term Pesticide Exposure May Increase Risk of Diabetes   Seven pesticides were linked to increased type 2 diabetes:aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor, dichlorvos, trichlorfon, alachlor and cynazine, with a 250% (The strongest correlation) increased risk of diabetes for people who sprayed the pesticide Trichlorfon more than ten times!   Out of the 50 pesticides studied, the seven pesticides involved in increasing diabetes risk are all chlorinated compounds, including two herbicides, three organochlorine insecticides and two organophosphate pesticides. (Thanks to John  for the diabetes and pesticide material) 

Canada: As of October 2012, dichlorvos is still of concern as there are still 11 products registered including 1 domestic product (Ortho Home Defense Max No-Pest Insecticide Strip) and products registered for fogging. Vapona pest strips used to be common. As of march, 2022, there are still 9 dichorlfos products registered. Trichlorfon: Historically there were many products including cattle insecticide and granular bait..Trichlorfon: Historically there were many products including cattle insecticide and granular bait. Only 3 products are still registered withcommercial and restricted uses since 2008. Re-evaluation Decision  Trichlorfon

POPs lead to insulin resistance in rats. (Environmental Health Perspectives Jan 14, 2010) . Persistent organic pollutant exposure leads to insulin resistance syndrome.

Obesogens: Can common chemicals make us fat? (phthalates, endocrine disruption)