TY - JOUR

T1 - Weight loss relapse associated with exposure to perfluoroalkylate substances

AU - Grandjean, Philippe

AU - Meddis, Alessandra

AU - Nielsen, Flemming

AU - Sjödin, Anders

AU - Hjorth, Mads Fiil

AU - Astrup, Arne

AU - Budtz-Jørgensen, Esben

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Authors. Obesity published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of The Obesity Society.

PY - 2023

Y1 - 2023

N2 - Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that perfluorinated alkylate substance (PFAS) exposures are associated with body weight increases in a dietary intervention study. Methods: In the DioGenes trial, adults with obesity first lost at least 8% of their body weight and then completed at least 26 weeks on a specific diet. Concentrations of five major PFASs were assessed in plasma samples from study baseline. Results: In 381 participants with complete data, plasma concentrations averaged 2.9 ng/mL and 1.0 ng/mL for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), respectively. A doubling in plasma PFOA was associated with an increase in weight at 26 weeks by 1.50 kg (95% CI: 0.88–2.11), with an increase of 0.91 kg (95% CI: 0.54–1.27) for PFHxS, independent of diet groups and sex. Associations for other PFASs were in the same direction and significant, although not after adjustment for PFOA and PFHxS. Weight changes associated with elevated PFAS exposures were similar to or larger than average changes ascribed to the different diet groups. Conclusions: Elevated plasma concentrations of PFOA and PFHxS were associated with increased weight gain that exceeded those related to the diets. Obesogenic PFASs may cause weight gain and thus contribute to the obesity pandemic.

AB - Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that perfluorinated alkylate substance (PFAS) exposures are associated with body weight increases in a dietary intervention study. Methods: In the DioGenes trial, adults with obesity first lost at least 8% of their body weight and then completed at least 26 weeks on a specific diet. Concentrations of five major PFASs were assessed in plasma samples from study baseline. Results: In 381 participants with complete data, plasma concentrations averaged 2.9 ng/mL and 1.0 ng/mL for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorohexanesulfonic acid (PFHxS), respectively. A doubling in plasma PFOA was associated with an increase in weight at 26 weeks by 1.50 kg (95% CI: 0.88–2.11), with an increase of 0.91 kg (95% CI: 0.54–1.27) for PFHxS, independent of diet groups and sex. Associations for other PFASs were in the same direction and significant, although not after adjustment for PFOA and PFHxS. Weight changes associated with elevated PFAS exposures were similar to or larger than average changes ascribed to the different diet groups. Conclusions: Elevated plasma concentrations of PFOA and PFHxS were associated with increased weight gain that exceeded those related to the diets. Obesogenic PFASs may cause weight gain and thus contribute to the obesity pandemic.

KW - Faculty of Science

KW - PFAS

KW - Body weight

KW - Weight gain

KW - Dietary intervention

U2 - 10.1002/oby.23755

DO - 10.1002/oby.23755

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 37069729

AN - SCOPUS:85153188019

VL - 31

SP - 1686

EP - 1696

JO - Obesity

JF - Obesity

SN - 1930-7381

IS - 6

ER -