An increasing number of baby boys are being born with genital malformations, such as undescended testes, according to a study in the journal Epidemiology (July 2009).

Study investigators analyzed the birth weights of more than five million children born in Canada between 1981 and 2003. In addition to malformations, researchers found a decrease in male fertility and a sustained decrease in birth weight differences between boys and girls (due to hormone differences, boys have traditionally weight more than girls at birth).

The study supports the theory that contaminants found in plastic materials may be diminishing the action of male hormones.

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