This is the Guardian. Across Europe, two-thirds of adults and a-third of children are overweight or obese.

But this isn't just an issue for the world's wealthier countries anymore.

Obesity is a problem pretty much everywhere.

The obesity epidemic costs the world $2 trillion a year.

A new report says over 30% of China's adult population is now overweight.

Obesity levels in Africa skyrocketing among all levels of society.

American Samoa now has the fastest population on earth.

It's causing a global health crisis, as increasing numbers of us end up with related illnesses like cancers, diabetes and heart

disease.

We've spent decades trying to eat less and exercise more and it's not helping.

Obesity just isn't as simple as calories in versus calories out.

So what is going on and then how do we start to fix it?

Well one theory is that chemical pollution may be partly to blame.

Recently dozens of researchers pulled together the evidence into three major scientific reviews, arguing that synthetic chemicals

found almost everywhere are changing our bodies

and making us gain weight. The idea hasn't made it into mainstream medicine yet, but

it's fascinating that these tiny molecules could be having such

an outsized impact.

So how might these chemicals be making us fatter?

And is there anything we can actually do about it?

From the Guardian, I'm Madeline Finley,

and this is Science Weekly. Damien Carrington, you're the Guardian's Environment Editor, so you're quite regularly writing about

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