B-b-but Fat! Obesity Epidemic! FAAAAAAAT!

A new study in the Journal of the American Medical Association has uncovered a link between diabetes and arsenic in US public drinking water.
In the first study of its kind, scientists found Americans with high levels of arsenic in their urine were almost four times more likely to have diabetes than those with trace levels. The risk was apparent at levels generally considered harmless and grew with increasing exposure…

Participants with type 2 diabetes had a 26 percent higher level of arsenic overall.
It isn't clear from this study whether the participating diabetics are not filtering the arsenic out of their systems as effectively, or whether exposure to the arsenic is actually contributing to the development of the disease, or a combination thereof—although previous research has shown that "arsenic raises blood sugar and insulin levels," suggesting that arsenic in our drinking water may indeed be contributing to the diabetes "epidemic."

One guess as to whether we'll endeavor to fix our environment or just keep blamin' the fatties.

Related story of interest from 2006: EPA May Weaken Rule on Water Quality. Not only will you find out about increased arsenic levels, but you will also see a picture of the EPA's Benjamin H. Grumbles. (Fo' real!)

[H/T to Shaker Tina H.]

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