While pollution may have been linked with breathing disorders and allergies, it has now been associated with obesity.
New weight advice from the American Institute of Biological Sciences notes the potentially harmful effects of tributyltin.
The substance is used for a number of purposes, ranging from as a preservative for textiles and woods to being sprayed on crops as a pesticide.
But it has been associated with a range of negative health impacts - including causing female snails to begin to change gender.
Fleas, meanwhile, are seen to experience impaired reproductive capabilities, while humans are given weight advice relating to tributyltin.
In mammals - potentially including humans - the health effects include damage to the liver, immune system and nervous system.
Among newborns, excess fatty tissue is seen to accumulate in mice exposed to tributyltin.
The researchers point out that the increasing use of such chemicals among products in daily usage has been followed by an increase in obesity in the general human population.
Penn State College of Medicine recently reported that obesity itself causes physiological changes which could encourage individuals to eat more.
By numbing taste receptors, obesity causes sufferers to consume larger, sweeter meals in order to achieve a pleasing effect.
