"Forever" PFAS chemicals might hamper a teenager's ability to drop excess weight, even if they've undergone weight-loss surgery, a new study says.
Teens with high blood levels of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances were more likely to regain weight lost after bariatric surgery, researchers reported Aug. 14 in the journal Obesity.
"Our study shows a clear association between PFAS exposure and weight-related outcomes in bariatric surgery for adolescents," lead researcher Brittney Baumert said in a news release. She's a postdoctoral research fellow in population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
PFAS are called "forever chemicals" because they combine carbon and fluorine molecules, one of the strongest chemical bonds possible. This makes PFAS removal and breakdown very difficult.
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