title: The OBELIX project: early life exposure to endocrine disruptors and obesity.
abstract: The hypothesis of whether early life exposure (both pre- and early postnatal) to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) may be a risk factor for obesity and related metabolic diseases later in life will be tested in the European research project OBELIX (OBesogenic Endocrine disrupting chemicals: LInking prenatal eXposure to the development of obesity later in life). OBELIX is a 4-y project that started in May 2009 and which has the following 5 main objectives: 1) to assess early life exposure in humans to major classes of EDCs identified as potential inducers of obesity (ie, dioxin-like compounds, non-dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, organochlorine pesticides, brominated flame retardants, phthalates, and perfluorinated compounds) by using mother-child cohorts from 4 European regions with different food-contaminant exposure patterns; 2) to relate early life exposure to EDCs with clinical markers, novel biomarkers, and health-effect data related to obesity; 3) to perform hazard characterization of early life exposure to EDCs for the development of obesity later in life by using a mouse model; 4) to determine mechanisms of action of obesogenic EDCs on developmental programming with in vivo and in vitro genomics and epigenetic analyses; and 5) to perform risk assessments of prenatal exposure to obesogenic EDCs in food by integrating maternal exposure through food-contaminant exposure and health-effect data in children and hazard data in animal studies.
authors.affiliation: Institutes for Environmental Studies VU University Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands. juliette.legler@ivm.vu.nl
authors.forename: Juliette
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Legler
authors.forename: Timo
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hamers
authors.forename: Margot
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: van Eck van der Sluijs-van de Bor
authors.forename: Greet
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Schoeters
authors.forename: Leo
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: van der Ven
authors.forename: Merete
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Eggesbo
authors.forename: Janna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koppe
authors.forename: Max
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Feinberg
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Trnovec
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors / Q000633:toxicity*; D004781:Environmental Exposure / Q000009:adverse effects*; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D005411:Flame Retardants / Q000633:toxicity; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005506:Food Contamination / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018811:Maternal Exposure; D051379:Mice; D008895:Milk, Human / Q000737:chemistry; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D010575:Pesticides / Q000633:toxicity; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls / Q000633:toxicity*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D052244:Endocrine Disruptors; D005411:Flame Retardants; D010575:Pesticides; D011078:Polychlorinated Biphenyls