Title: More Fat, Less Bone? Flame Retardant May Deliver a One–Two Punch

In this study, both FM550 and TPP suppressed osteogenesis in bone marrow cultures, with FM550 suppressing activity more than TPP alone.3 The authors hypothesize that environmental obesogens could be contributing to the growing prevalence of osteoporosis worldwide.5 House dust contains high levels of organophosphate flame retardants, and their metabolites are ubiquitous in human urine.6 The authors estimated that young children could ingest 120 μg/day TPP from indoor exposure to dust alone.3 “The effects shown in this paper occur at significantly higher exposures; thus, at present exposure levels there seems to be a margin of safety,” says Jerry Heindel, a health scientist administrator at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, which supported the study in part. “However, if exposure increases due to increased use of FM550, the margin of safety could be eroded.” According to Barbara Corkey, director of the Obesity Research Center at Boston University School of Medicine, the new study is important to the field “because FM550 is one of thousands of chemicals that have appeared in our environment since the obesity epidemic began. The important question this study raises is how many of the other thousands of compounds that have not been tested [may] also have a small effect on obesity.” Corkey was not involved in the research. “This is the first study to provide evidence that an organophosphate-based flame retardant could contribute to bone loss,...
Source: EHP Research - Category: Environmental Health Authors: Tags: Featured News Science Selection Children's Health Dust Flame Retardants Musculoskeletal Health November 2014 Obesity Source Type: research