Sicker, fatter, poorer : the urgent threat of hormone-disrupting chemicals to our health and future ... and what we can do about it / Leonardo Trasande, M.D., M.P.P.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

A leading voice in public health policy and top environmental medicine scientist reveals the alarming truth about how hormone-disrupting chemicals are affecting our daily lives--and what we can do to protect ourselves and fight back.



Lurking in our homes, hiding in our offices, and polluting the air we breathe is something sinister. Something we've turned a blind eye to for far too long. Dr. Leonardo Trasande, a pediatrician, professor, and world-renowned researcher, tells the story of how our everyday surroundings are making us sicker, fatter, and poorer.



Dr. Trasande exposes the chemicals that disrupt our hormonal systems and damage our health in irreparable ways. He shows us where these chemicals hide--in our homes, our schools, at work, in our food, and countless other places we can't control--as well as the workings of policy that protects the continued use of these chemicals in our lives. Drawing on extensive research and expertise, he outlines dramatic studies and emerging evidence about the rapid increases in neurodevelopmental, metabolic, reproductive, and immunological diseases directly related to the hundreds of thousands of chemicals that we are exposed to every day. Unfortunately, nowhere is safe.



But, thanks to Dr. Trasande's work on the topic, and his commitment to effecting change, this book can help. Through a blend of narrative, scientific detective work, and concrete information about the connections between chemicals and disease, he shows us what we can do to protect ourselves and our families in the short-term, and how we can help bring the change we deserve.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Booklist Review

Of the countless chemicals we're exposed to every day in ordinary life, thousands are damaging our health and endangering our environment. Pediatrician and environmental-medicine expert Trasande emphasizes the role of synthetic chemicals in upsetting many of the body's hormones. These endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) appear linked to a wide range of problems: infertility, low sperm counts, type 2 diabetes, obesity, autism, ADHD, endometriosis, and decreased IQ. In 2016, the recorded U.S. fertility rate was its lowest ever: 59.8 births per 1,000 women compared to 122.9 in 1957. EDCs find their way into our food supply, soil, cosmetics, and household furniture. A health official warned, "We are eating a half a milligram of plastic each day." One survey showed detectable amounts of BPA in 95 percent of adults. Evidence of adverse health effects is strongest for four chemical categories: pesticides, flame retardants, plasticizers, and bisphenols. The estimated economic burden of diseases attributable to EDCs in the U.S. and Europe is more than $400 billion annually. Trasande calls EDCs "the second greatest environmental challenge of our time," after climate change. Illuminating and alarming.--Tony Miksanek Copyright 2018 Booklist

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP is a professor in pediatrics, environmental medicine, and population health at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, in health policy at the NYU Wagner School of Public Service, and at the NYU College of Global Public Health. Dr. Trasande's research focuses on identifying the role of environmental exposures in childhood obesity and cardiovascular risks, and documenting the economic costs for policy makers of failing to proactively prevent diseases of environmental origin in children.