Association between maternal exposure to the pesticide dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and risk of obesity in middle age.

These data indicate maternal DDT exposure is significantly associated with increased obesity risk among middle-aged women independent of the obesity definition, confounding, and obesity risk factors. Our findings suggest that policies supporting the use of DDT for malaria vector abatement need to consider the obesity risk as a health cost when weighing the benefits of using DDT in malaria vector control.