ORCID

0000-0002-8737-0711 (Johnson)

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2026

DOI

10.37349/edd.2026.1005130

Publication Title

Exploration of Digestive Diseases

Volume

5

Pages

1005130 (19 pp.)

Abstract

Obesity is a rapidly growing global health concern. The pathogenesis is complex and cannot be fully explained by lifestyle factors alone. The increasing attention towards this concern has finally been directed towards environmental contributors which may influence metabolic regulation. Microplastics and nano-plastics (MNPs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants that have recently been detected in food, drinking water, air, and human biological samples, raising concerns about their potential role in metabolic disorders, including obesity. Chronic exposure to MNPs may interfere with metabolic homeostasis through multiple biological pathways. Emerging evidence, including both experimental and animal studies, reports alterations in lipid metabolism, body weight, insulin sensitivity, and inflammatory responses following MNPs exposure. This review synthesizes current evidence linking MNPs to obesity, highlighting key exposure pathways, mechanistic insights, and gaps in existing research. Understanding the metabolic implications of MNPs exposure is essential for advancing obesity research and informing future public health strategies. Further well-designed human studies are needed to clarify causal relationships and guide preventive interventions.

Rights

© The Authors 2026.

This is an Open Access article licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) License, which permits unrestricted use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.

Data Availability

Article states: "Not applicable."

Original Publication Citation

Albandak, M., Rabeeah, S., Zahidi, A. M., & Johnson, D. A. (2026). Microplastics, nanoplastics, and obesity: Current evidence and biological mechanisms. Exploration of Digestive Diseases, 5, Article 1005130. https://doi.org/10.37349/edd.2026.1005130 

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