According to a team of researchers at University of New Hampshire, being a couch potato may contribute to obesity in more ways than just lack of exercise. The couch itself could be making you fat.

I don’t know if this is true, but it’s such a good theory it definitely should be. UNH researchers are investigating environmental chemicals as a possible cause off the rising rate of overweight Americans.

The only hitch is that the chemicals that they think may make you fat are the same ones that protect you and your home from fire. Flame retardants called polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) are found in carpets, furniture and in some small appliances which reduces the risk of combustibility.

The researchers are looking at the ways that PBDEs mimic estrogen and thryroid hormones in the body, their relationship to the insulin sensitivity of cells and how this might contribute to the incidence of Type II diabetes and obesity.

I might be okay with spending less time on my couch, but they lost my support when they said that PBDEs are also found in computers.

Obesity And Environmental Chemicals: Research Probes Potential Link