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PETA wants pregnant women banned from chicken wing eating competitions

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XiaNaphryz

LATIN, MATRIPEDICABUS, DO YOU SPEAK IT
Why? Because PETA claims eating chicken wings during pregnancy could affect baby’s penis size:

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) asked that pregnant women be banned from the chicken wing-eating competitions, claiming that research links chicken consumption by expecting women to alarming health risks for their unborn babies: namely, smaller penis size in boys and blocked arteries at birth in both sexes.

“Findings published by the Study for Future Families showed that eating poultry during pregnancy may lead to smaller penis size in male infants,” says Lindsay Rajt, PETA’s associate director of campaigns, in her letter to Drew Cerza, founder of the National Buffalo Wing Festival. “In addition, eating cholesterol-laden chicken flesh during pregnancy may also increase unborn babies’ risk of being born with blocked arteries, which can lead to strokes and heart attacks later in life.”

The claims are pretty scary—so Women’s Health decided to investigate to see if they’re legitimate.

Reality Check: Chicken Consumption Isn’t Linked to Penis Size

The research PETA mentioned from the Study for Future Families didn’t look at chicken consumption at all—it looked at how prenatal phthalate exposure affects boys reproductively in a variety of ways, one of which was penis size. It is true that, according to the Study for Future Families’ research, boys born to moms with the highest levels of phthalate exposure (defined as those in the top 25th percentile) were more likely to have shorter penises than those born to moms with the lowest levels of phthalate exposure (those in the bottom 25th percentile).

Why? Phthalates may decrease the amount of testosterone a boy is exposed to in his mother’s womb, hindering his reproductive development. This has been linked to a host of issues, such as a higher likelihood of undescended testicles and a smaller anogenital distance (the distance between the anus and the genitals; this measure has been associated with feminization). In rodent studies, prenatal phthalate exposure in males has also been correlated with lower sperm counts later in life and even infertility.

It’s scary, yes, but here’s the thing: You gain exposure to phthalates in lots of ways, such as when you use certain personal care products, when you eat out of plastic containers, and when you consume anything on the list of many, many foods that contain phthalates, says Shanna H. Swan, Ph.D., a professor in the department of preventive medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who conducted the research PETA cites. What’s more, chicken doesn’t even rank particularly high on the list of foods containing phthalates (spices are actually at the top of the list, according to one German study). “I think any link between eating buffalo wings—even by pregnant women—and the size of their son’s genitals is very tenuous,” says Swan.

What About Clogged Arteries?

While PETA didn’t cite the exact research that inspired this statement, we tracked down an Australian study published in February in the journal Fetal and Neonatal Edition of Archives of Disease of Childhood that appears to be the basis of this claim. The research found that the children born to overweight or obese women have artery walls about 0.06 millimeters thicker at birth than other children. “This thickening is a measure of early atherosclerosis and is consistent with higher risk of heart attack and stroke in later life,” says Michael Skilton, PhD, a senior research fellow at the Boden Institute of Obesity, Nutrition, Exercise & Eating Disorders in the Sydney Medical School. “It is worthwhile noting that the arteries are not clogged or blocked at this young age.”

A mother’s cholesterol level during pregnancy is associated with the severity of atherosclerosis in her children’s arteries, says Skilton. But the idea that you could give birth to a baby with clogged arteries because you eat a lot of fatty chicken in one sitting is a stretch—at best. For one thing, dietary cholesterol is a poor indicator of blood cholesterol levels. Furthermore, Skilton’s study didn’t look at the food the women in the study were consuming—it only looked at the weight of the moms. “Because it is unknown whether competitive eating, undertaken on either a single occasion or on a regular basis, is associated with weight gain, it is impossible to say whether or not our findings concerning maternal obesity are of relevance to the current discussion,” says Skilton.

The Takeaway

So participating in a chicken wing-eating contest while pregnant may not have such dire health consequences for your baby, but the connection between prenatal phthalate exposure and reproductive issues in males is disconcerting. If you’re looking to limit your exposure, Swan recommends eating organic, unprocessed food whenever possible (since experts suspect processing introduces the phthalates into food), following the Environmental Working Group’s suggestions on how to buy safer products, steering clear of plastic containers as much as possible (particularly when they’re holding food), and heating up food in glass containers (as opposed to plastic). ”Some plastics are safer than others, but they probably all have some hormonal activity,” says Swan, “so I just make a practice of using glass.”
Click to expand...
 
T

TommyT

Member
New play on a Chic fil a slogan (sans spelling)?

"Why eat chicken when you can just choke his?"

or

"Save a chicken so he won't have to choke his as often"

or

"Save a chicken and save your son from choking his"

PETA, give me a call and I'll let you use these.
 
A

andthebeatgoeson

Junior Member
Soka said:
I've got a bone to pick with my mother.
Click to expand...

p1i3vQ9.jpg


Which bone?
 
C

Cow Mengde

Banned
freenudemacusers said:
my wife at lots of chicken during pregnancy and my son's penis is fine.
Click to expand...

Really? How do you know your son's penis couldn't have been bigger if she didn't eat so much chicken? Huh? HUH? The kid could have been flaunting a 13 inch cock in college, but now his dreams are shattered! He will never have normal life because of you!!!
 
S

slit

Member
Yeah I'm sure that's going to happen. You can't even make women stop smoking or drinking during pregnacy if they want to.
 
S

SquiddyCracker

Banned
If there is significant evidence suggesting a significant negative consequence of mothers eating chicken wings in great excess, then sure.

But PETA don't have a good case here I reckon, just some random conclusions drawn from a couple of studies.
 
A

Alchemy

Member
PETA is pretty worthless these days. Its like they care more about click bait then they do helping animals.
 
K

Kinitari

Black Canada Mafia
I want to make a joke that combines black people eating chicken and black penis size, but I'm not very good at this sort of thing.
 
S

Sinatar

Official GAF Bottom Feeder
Old joke time:

How many PETA members does it take to change a light bulb?

Zero. Everyone knows PETA can't change anything.
 
C

cryptic

Member
Excess estrogen from PUFA can fuck with the gender differentiators and lead to smaller penises, also gender identification issues which may account for gay/ and or transvestites to some capacity. I don't condone PETA though.
 
C

Chariot

Member
Cow Mengde said:
Really? How do you know your son's penis couldn't have been bigger if she didn't eat so much chicken? Huh? HUH? The kid could have been flaunting a 13 inch cock in college, but now his dreams are shattered! He will never have normal life because of you!!!
Click to expand...
I agree. Parents like him, who don't care about the potential huge cocks of their children are the worst! His children should be taken and given to parents who love big cocks.
 
A

AAK

Member
Why does this sound familiar? This reminds me of Ruka from Steins;gate.

HorribleSubsSteinsGate02720pmkv_snapshot_0532_20110413_004050.png


Ruka made his mother back in time when she was pregnant with him to eat more vegetables so he'd be born a girl instead.
 
C

Chariot

Member
AAK said:
Why does this sound familiar? This reminds me of Ruka from Steins;gate.

HorribleSubsSteinsGate02720pmkv_snapshot_0532_20110413_004050.png


Ruka made his mother back in time when she was pregnant with him to eat more vegetables so he'd be born a girl instead.
Click to expand...
Damn, so PETA is part of SERN?!
 
V

Vagabundo

Member
And new research says that 85.9% of people cannot differentiate between a PETA news release and an Onion article.

Something needs to be done.

For the children.
 
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