There are many reasons why the world is ensnared in an obesity epidemic, and they don't only involve the quantity of food people are eating (though that's a big part of it). In some cases, toxic substances found in products we encounter everyday are contributing to the problem--along with genetically modified food, forks, and countless other factors. Today's obesity epidemic has also led to a diabetes epidemic--today, 25.8 million people in the U.S. (that's more than 8% of the population) have diabetes. 
 
 In a study published recently in the journal Pediatrics, researchers from New York University School of Medicine found a strong link between insulin resistance in U.S. teens and their urinary concentration of DEHP, a chemical (specifically a type of phthalate) used in medical equipment and packaged food. Researchers have previously seen links between insulin resistance--a precursor to diabetes that can trigger weight gain--and DEHP levels in both adults and animals. 
 
 When the body becomes insulin resistant, it's akin to having rusty keys that won't turn. 
 
 Using a national survey, the researchers collected data from a sample of teenagers related to glucose levels, fasting insulin, height, weight, poverty, ethnicity, and other factors. Phthalate levels were measured using a urine sample. 
 
 Their results: Higher phthalate levels were linked to insulin resistance. The researchers write that more studies are needed: 
 
 While dietary sources are likely to be the chief source of exposure, given the uses of DEHP in other products, we cannot rule out nondietary sources as contributors to the associations identified here...Knowledge gaps also persist in understanding food contamination with DEHP. A comprehensive review suggests that most studies are dated and may not represent current exposures. 
 
 Insulin resistance is, according to diabetes educator Gary Scheiner, "the root cause of almost all cases of Type 2 diabetes." Insulin (a hormone generated in the pancreas) regulates the amount of sugar in the bloodstream by directing glucose into fat, muscle, and liver cells. It's like a key that unlocks access to these cells, Scheiner explained to the Chicago Tribune. When the body becomes insulin resistant, it's akin to having rusty keys that won't turn--glucose can't get into cells, and the body panics at the rise of blood sugar in the pancreas, producing even more insulin. Blood sugar eventually rises to untenable levels, and diabetes occurs. 
 
 In a study earlier this year, Dr. Leonardo Trasande--the lead author on the DEHP paper--also found that low-molecular weight phthalates, often found in cosmetics, lotion, and creams, are linked to increased body mass among African American children. Phthalate exposure, the report explained, could be responsible for a 1.7 pound increase in body weight in children. 
 
 There are ways to avoid phthalate exposure in daily life. Don't use unnecessary personal care products, for starters. And the researchers suggest that it's possible to avoid some DEHP exposure by opting for fresh foods instead of foods that are canned or wrapped in plastic--a move that can reduce DEHP metabolites up to 56%. Certain kinds of packaging, like wax paper and aluminum wrap, don't contain DEHP at all. ||||| Canned foods may contain BPA because the chemical leaches from the liner into the food. 
 
 Credit: Canned food photo via Shutterstock View full size image 
 
 The chemicals bisphenol A and phthalates are linked to obesity and insulin resistance in adolescents in two new studies, but the findings cannot yet answer whether the hotly debated hormone-like compounds are causing the negative health effects they are linked with, experts say. 
 
 In one study, the researchers measured the levels of DEHP, a phthalate found in processed foods, in the urine of 766 adolescents ages 12 to 19. They found that teens with higher amounts of DEHP in their urine had increased rates of insulin resistance, a condition that can lead to Type 2 diabetes. 
 
 The results held when the researchers controlled for some other risk factors for insulin resistance, such as the teens' calorie intake and weight. The researchers didn't find an association between insulin resistance and other kinds of phthalates that are found in cosmetics and personal care products such as shampoos. 
 
 "In laboratory studies, phthalates influence the expression of genes related to how we respond to sugar ingestion with insulin secretion," said study researcher Dr. Leonardo Trasande, professor of environmental medicine and pediatrics at New York University. 
 
 
 
 "A previous study has identified an association between phthalates and insulin resistance in adult males," so in the new study the researchers examined this relationship in adolescents, Trasande said. [9 Weird Ways Kids Can Get Hurt] 
 
 However, the study does not prove a cause-and-effect relationship. It is possible that insulin-resistant teens tended to eat food with higher phthalates content, or that they excreted more DEHP in their urine compared to healthy children, the researchers said in their study, which was published today (Aug. 19) in the journal Pediatrics. 
 
 Evidence for BPA and obesity link 
 
 Another study published in the same journal examined the relationship between bisphenol A (BPA) and obesity in more than 10,000 children ages 6 to18. Children with the highest amounts of BPA in their urine had double the risk of being obese, compared with children with the lowest urinary BPA levels. 
 
 In this study too, the researchers recommended cautious interpretation of the results. BPA is found in higher concentrations in fat tissue compared to other body tissues, so it is possible that people with more body fat store more BPA from food, and excrete more in urine, said study researcher Dr. Joyce Lee, professor of pediatrics and endocrinology at University of Michigan. 
 
 Another possibility is that people who are obese are merely eating more BPA-containing food, Lee said. [5 Ways to Limit BPA in Your Life] 
 
 Still far from a consensus 
 
 
 
 Both BPA and phthalates have been the focus of intense research in recent years because of concerns raised over their potential to act like hormones in people who are expose to them through food packaging, but studies have been inconclusive and scientists have not reached a consensus. 
 
 In a commentary published along with the new studies, Dr. Robert Brent, professor of pediatrics at Thomas Jefferson University and an expert on environmental toxicology, questioned the methods commonly used in studying exposure to such chemicals, particularly BPA. He said that chemical content of the urine may not be a good measure of a person's actual exposure to the chemical. 
 
 Humans metabolize BPA rapidly and eliminate it via the urine, keeping only low amounts of the chemical in the blood, which is where it can have biological effects, Brent said. 
 
 Previous studies have tested people who ate foods with high BPA content, and saw that even though they excreted higher amounts of BPA through their urine, their blood levels of BPA were still at the lowest detectable amounts, Brent wrote in the commentary. 
 
 Moreover, research has suggested that metabolism destroys the ability of BPA to disrupt the endocrine (hormone) system. "After it gets into the blood, it doesn't even have the ability to attach to an endocrine receptor," Brent told LiveScience. "Yet, it's shown to be linked with a whole host of diseases. Autism, diabetes, genital malformation, cancer, you name it." 
 
 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has maintained that toxicity tests show current levels of adults' exposure to BPA is low and safe. However, in July 2012, the agency announced a ban on using BPA in baby bottles and cups after the chemical industry requested the ban, and as the industry was phasing out BPA use. BPA is more highly regulated in several countries, including Canada, as precautionary measures, but officials also generally acknowledge the lack of evidence about BPA's effects. 
 
 Email Bahar Gholipour or follow her @alterwired. Follow LiveScience @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.
– It might not just be the foods teens are eating that lead to obesity and type 2 diabetes, but the wrappers and cans they come in, two studies published recently in Pediatrics suggest. In one, researchers found that higher levels of DEHP, a phthalate found in processed foods, their packaging, medical equipment, and other products, correlated strongly with greater insulin resistance, a key precursor to diabetes. The other linked the infamous-yet-ubiquitous BPA with obesity, LiveScience reports. The DEHP link held true even after correcting for things like economic status, ethnicity, and glucose levels. "While dietary sources are likely to be the chief source of exposure, given the uses of DEHP in other products, we cannot rule out nondietary sources," researchers wrote, according to Fast Company. But both teams added that their results didn't prove causation, and one doctor commenting on the study complained that they relied on urine analysis, which isn't necessarily indicative of how much of the chemicals remained in the blood.