Eighty-six percent of teenagers have gender-bending chemicals from plastic in their bodies called Bisphenol A (BPA), according to a University of Exeter study, the Daily Mail reported on Monday.
The chemical, which has been in widespread use since the 1960s to make certain types of plastic, mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen and has been linked to low sperm counts and infertility in men, as well as breast and prostate cancer.
"Most people are exposed to BPA on a daily basis," said Prof. Lorna Harries, who co-wrote the study. "Given current labeling laws, it is difficult to avoid exposure by altering our diet. In an ideal world, we would have a choice over what we put into our bodies. At the present time, since it is difficult to identify which foods and packaging contain BPA, it is not possible to make that choice."
The European Chemicals Agency last year reclassified BPA as a substance of "very high concern" due to its "probable serious effects" on human health. The main way people are exposed is through plastic packaging whose chemicals leach into food.
Prof. Tamara Galloway, lead author of the research, told the Telegraph that "There is growing evidence that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals may be associated with adverse health outcomes."
Even foods that appear safe because they are not sold in plastic packaging may still contain ingredients which have been exposed to the dangerous chemical.
However, Cancer Research UK has said there is no convincing scientific evidence that BPA increases the risk of cancer, according to the Sun.
In addition, the European Food Safety Authority said there is no risk posed at current exposure levels to any age group, according to its most recent statement on the subject in January 2015.
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