"A chemical used in sodas and some laxatives for years assumed safe by federal health officials might make people more prone to obesity.

The chemical is used as a laxative and in sodas to help ingredients mix properly. It's also a major ingredient in Corexit, the dispersant applied by the millions of gallons in the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster.

But the chemical, dicotyl sodium sulfoscuccinate, or DOSS, is a likely member of a family of chemicals contributing to obesity, researchers say in a study published today in the Environmental Health Perspectives journal."

Brian Bienkowski reports for Environmental Health News July 2, 2015. [2]