Simultaneous exposure to electromagnetic field from mobile phone and unimpeded fructose drinking during pre-, peri-, and post-pubertal stages perturbs the hypothalamic and hepatic regulation of energy homeostasis by early adulthood: experimental evidence

Investigating the effect of radiofrequency electromagnetic field exposure on molecular pathways related to insulin resistance and adipogenesis in zebrafish embryos - A pilot study without quantitative exposure metrics

In recent years, obesity has become a global problem in children and adolescents, in parallel with the rapid increase in the use of information and communication technology. Recognizing the embryonic causes of obesity may help prevent adverse adult health outcomes. In our study, we hypothesized that radiofrequency-electromagnetic field (RF-EMF) exposure during embryogenesis would affect the molecular mechanisms related to adipogenesis and insulin resistance in zebrafish. To achieve this, we set up a system that emits RF-EMF in the 900 MHz band and subjected zebrafish embryos to its RF-EMF. We created two groups in which we exposed 30 min (EMF-30) and 60 min (EMF-60) per day, and a control group that was not exposed to RF-EMF. We ended the exposure at 96 hpf and analyzed the expression of lepa, ins, and pparg that are involved in the regulation of glucose and lipid metabolism. In addition, we analyzed oxidative stress parameters, embryonic development, and locomotor activity. We found decreased mRNA transcript abundance of lepa, ins, pparg, and activities of superoxide dismutase and acetylcholine esterase, along with increased lipid peroxidation (LPO), nitric oxide (NO), and glutathione S-transferase (GST). Locomotor activity increased in the EMF-30 group and decreased in the EMF-60 group. Our results showed that exposure to RF-EMF during the embryonic period disrupted the molecular pathways related to insulin resistance and adipogenesis in zebrafish. However, due to limited available resources, we were not able to appropriately quantify the actual RF exposure strength of the samples. Hence the results reported here should only be seen as preliminary, and further studies employing high quality exposure apparatus and dosimetry should be carried out in future.

Mobile Phone Radiation Deflects Brain Energy Homeostasis and Prompts Human Food Ingestion

Obesity and mobile phone usage have simultaneously spread worldwide. Radio frequency-modulated electromagnetic fields (RF-EMFs) emitted by mobile phones are largely absorbed by the head of the user, influence cerebral glucose metabolism, and modulate neuronal excitability. Body weight adjustment, in turn, is one of the main brain functions as food intake behavior and appetite perception underlie hypothalamic regulation. Against this background, we questioned if mobile phone radiation and food intake may be related. In a single-blind, sham-controlled, randomized crossover comparison, 15 normal-weight young men (23.47 ± 0.68 years) were exposed to 25 min of RF-EMFs emitted by two different mobile phone types vs. sham radiation under fasting conditions. Spontaneous food intake was assessed by an ad libitum standard buffet test and cerebral energy homeostasis was monitored by ³¹phosphorus-magnetic resonance spectroscopy measurements. Exposure to both mobile phones strikingly increased overall caloric intake by 22–27% compared with the sham condition. Differential analyses of macronutrient ingestion revealed that higher calorie consumption was mainly due to enhanced carbohydrate intake. Measurements of the cerebral energy content, i.e., adenosine triphosphate and phosphocreatine ratios to inorganic phosphate, displayed an increase upon mobile phone radiation. Our results identify RF-EMFs as a potential contributing factor to overeating, which underlies the obesity epidemic. Beyond that, the observed RF-EMFs-induced alterations of the brain energy homeostasis may put our data into a broader context because a balanced brain energy homeostasis is of fundamental importance for all brain functions. Potential disturbances by electromagnetic fields may therefore exert some generalized neurobiological effects, which are not yet foreseeable.