新的证据表明，暴露于内分泌紊乱的化学物质（endocrine-disrupting chemicals，EDC）中，可能导致人类面临的最大的公共健康威胁--糖尿病和肥胖。这些化学物质可能模仿、阻断或干扰人体的内分泌激素。通过劫持人体的化学信使，内分泌干扰物（化学物质）可以改变细胞的发育和生长方式。现在已经知道的能够干扰内分泌的包括双酚A（BPA），这种分子存在于食品包装盒的内衬和收银机的收据单上。存在于塑料、化妆品、阻燃剂和杀虫剂中的邻苯二甲酸酯也是内分泌干扰物。这些化学物质是如此普遍，以至于地球上几乎每个人都暴露这样的化学环境中。
内分泌干扰物EDC对于未出生的胎儿影响尤其严重。动物模型研究发现，在胎儿期少量的内分泌干扰物可以导致出生之后生活中的患上肥胖。同样，动物模型研究还发现，一些内分泌干扰物的直接目标是胰腺中的β、α细胞、脂肪细胞和肝细胞。这可导致胰岛素抵抗和体内胰岛素过多，即会增加二型糖尿病的患病风险。而且人类的EDC暴露流行病学研究也指出，暴露于EDC与肥胖和糖尿病确实存在关联，虽然研究并不能确定这之间因果关系。
科学家们认为，一方面需要继续确定哪些化学分子可能导致哪些疾病，这些化学分子的危险浓度，以及有怎样的因果关系。此外，还需要减少人们在内分泌干扰相关的化学分子环境中暴露的时间。尤其是孩子们，更需要保护他们，让他们远离潜在危险性的化学分子环境。决策者也需要关注化学分子污染，通过立法从源头上控制这些EDC的污染源，这对于社会公众健康将有重要意义。
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1210/er.2015-1093
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This Executive Summary to the Endocrine Society's second Scientific Statement on environmental endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) provides a synthesis of the key points of the complete statement. The full Scientific Statement represents a comprehensive review of the literature on seven topics for which there is strong mechanistic, experimental, animal, and epidemiological evidence for endocrine disruption, namely: obesity and diabetes, female reproduction, male reproduction, hormone-sensitive cancers in females, prostate cancer, thyroid, and neurodevelopment and neuroendocrine systems. EDCs such as bisphenol A, phthalates, pesticides, persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls, polybrominated diethyl ethers, and dioxins were emphasized because these chemicals had the greatest depth and breadth of available information. The Statement also included thorough coverage of studies of developmental exposures to EDCs, especially in the fetus and infant, because these are critical life stages during which perturbations of hormones can increase the probability of a disease or dysfunction later in life. A conclusion of the Statement is that publications over the past 5 years have led to a much fuller understanding of the endocrine principles by which EDCs act, including nonmonotonic dose-responses, low-dose effects, and developmental vulnerability. These findings will prove useful to researchers, physicians, and other healthcare providers in translating the science of endocrine disruption to improved public health.