Fluoridation Side Effects > Obesity Links to Source Documents: Obesity | Fluoridation "The National Research Council concluded that fluoride is an endocrine disruptor. Endocrine effects include altered thyroid function." – Comments to EPA by Kathleen M. Thiessen, PhD "Fluoride was once used by European doctors to lower the thyroid function of patients suffering from hyperthyroidism and the doses used are reached by some individuals in fluoridated communities. In the U.S., millions of people suffer from hypothyroidism, and even more with subclinical hypothyroidism, for which the symptoms are tiredness not relieved with sleep, lethargy, obesity, and depression." – Paul Connett, PhD, "Fluoridation Gamble Fails the Test of Time," Republic Magazine, Feb. 26, 2009 A Fluoride–Obesity Link in the Gut? Applied to teeth topically via toothpaste, fluoride poisons Streptococcus mutans bacteria in the mouth that convert sugary foods into tooth-decaying lactic acid. "Topical fluoride (e.g. fluoride in toothpaste) is the only significantly beneficial way in which that substance affects dental health. However, if the concentrations of fluoride in the oral cavity are sufficient to inhibit bacterial enzymes and cause other bacteriostatic effects, then those concentrations are also capable of producing adverse effects in mammalian tissue." – EPA Headquarters Union of Scientists, 1986 January 2011: "Scientists have discovered that the bacteria living in your intestines may play a far more significant role in weight loss and gastrointestinal problems than ever imagined.... Further evidence that managing gut bacteria may be an important and effective way to control weight." – Federation of the American Societies for Experimental Biology A study on obesity done at the University of Michigan Health System and published in the International Journal of Obesity (April 12, 2010) "shows Americans are getting heavier younger and carrying the extra weight for longer periods over their lifetime." A wide range of national data on children and adults born between 1926 and 2005 reveals the troubling trend of younger generations becoming obese earlier in life than their parents and grandparents: 20% of those born between 1966 and 1985 were obese by ages 20-29. Among their parents, those born between 1946 and 1955, that level of obesity was not reached until ages 30-39. For individuals born between 1936 and 1945, not until ages 40-49. For those born between 1926 and 1935, obesity prevalence was even later, during the 50s. The researchers concluded: "The increasing cumulative exposure to excess weight over the lifetime of recent birth cohorts will likely have profound implications for future rates of type 2 diabetes, and mortality within the US population." This increase in obesity parallels the increase in fluoride consumption by children and adults over the past century from fluoridated tap water and products made with it, as well as from fluoride supplements. Obesity is reported to be a major factor in the increasing incidence of early puberty in girls. Is there a more direct connection to fluoride consumption with the onset of puberty? Animal research by Jennifer Luke suggests there is. Here's the conclusion of her 1997 PhD dissertation, "The Effect of Fluoride on the Physiology of the Pineal Gland": "The first step in assessing a health risk by a substance to humans is the identification of its harmful effects on animals. A health risk to humans is assessed using results from human epidemiological studies in conjunction with results from animal studies. The Newburgh-Kingston Study (Schlesinger et al, 1956) showed an earlier age of first menarche in girls living in the fluoridated Newburgh than in unfluoridated Kingston. The current animal study indicates that fluoride is associated with an earlier onset of puberty in female gerbils.... "In conclusion, the human pineal gland contains the highest concentration of fluoride in the body. Fluoride is associated with depressed pineal melatonin synthesis by prepubertal gerbils and an accelerated onset of sexual maturation in the female gerbil. The results strengthen the hypothesis that the pineal has a role in the timing of the onset of puberty. Whether or not fluoride interferes with pineal function in humans requires further investigation." In her 2001 study published in Caries Research, Dr. Luke found that "by old age, the pineal gland has readily accumulated fluoride and its fluoride/calcium ratio is higher than bone." See the Fluoride Action Network's Health Effects page: Fluoride & Pineal Gland. "About $147 billion a year are spent directly related to obesity and the underlying health conditions related to that. That compares with all the cancers that people have across America, which cost a little under $100 billion a year." – Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, CBS Sunday Morning, July 18, 2010 (www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/10/25/sunday/main5419040.shtml) If artificial fluoridation were responsible for only 10 percent of our obesity epidemic, terminating water fluoridation would save Americans about $15 billion a year. Water Fluoridation – Sales Pitch vs. Reality Check is a comprehensive 2008 report by John D. MacArthur whose recent comments to EPA summarize epidemiological data suggesting millions of Americans are suffering adverse health conditions resulting from the failure to properly regulate fluoride in drinking water. This page revised April 6, 2011.