Paper or obese feminized boy children?

Troubling information abounds on the impact that plastics in our environment are having on the human body. Fair warning - this is a bad news blog.

An extremely troubling article in Newsweek recently showed how plastic chemicals may be related to obesity.

Then just today, an article on the BBC website relayed some additional surprising information. First, there's a Journal of Andrology.* Second, boys who play with Barbies are more likely to play with Barbies due to the feminizing impact of phthalates (found in many, many, many things we are all exposed to every single day, in particular vinyl flooring and plastic shower curtains).

The really really bad news is that these plasticizers are totally ubiquitous. Not only are they in plastic (obviously) but the chemicals in this family are often used as fabric treatments on furniture and clothing and as protective film on glass and metal containers. Europe, being extremely European, banned phthalates in toys but not in other everyday items so they are still fairly ubiquitous there as well unless maybe you live and work in a toy store.

I'm trying not to be totally defeated by this information but it falls into my least favorite category of threats which is at the uncomfortable intersection of "real and relevant to me" and "very little I can meaningfully do about it."

Now I am going to sing a quiet happy song la la la la la la la.


*Really? Is there a Journal of Left-handedness?