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Sarah has two Master's, one in Zoology and one in GIS, a Bachelor's in Biology, and has taught college level Physical Science and Biology.
We think of children as small versions of adults, so it may also make sense to think of them as being at a lower risk to toxicants and other harmful substances. However, quite the opposite is true. Children are actually more susceptible to toxicants and their effects than adults, mostly because of their small size.
Children are so much smaller than adults but still breathe the same air, eat the same foods and drink the same water. This means that they're getting a higher concentration of toxicant for their body weight than adults. Say you ingested a tablespoon of poison and a child ingested the same amount of poison. The effect would be much greater for the child because compared to their body size the amount of poison is much larger. The same is true for pollutants in the air, additives in food and toxicants in drinking water.
Children are also much more susceptible to the effects of toxicants because they're still developing both inside and out. Have you ever cut or scraped a part of your body? As it's healing, that part of the skin is soft and sensitive - it's growing back to replace what you damaged. The same is true for children - their bodies are constantly growing and developing and are more like the sensitive healing skin of your injury than the hard, weathered skin around it.
Anyone who has been around children knows that they pick up things and then usually put those things in their mouths. Many toys and other objects they come in contact with are plastic, which is full of toxicants that can be harmful in high doses. One or two times of putting something in your mouth may not be so bad, but if you do it enough, those 'doses' add up to a substantial amount of exposure.
Not only are children putting all sorts of things in their mouths, but they are also processing the things that end up in their digestive system much quicker than adults. Because children's bodies are in that constant state of growth and development, their bodies are designed to maximize nutrient absorption from food. So, the quicker the body can extract what it needs from food, the quicker it can use it for growth. Unfortunately, when children put toxicants into their bodies, these get absorbed just as quickly as the good stuff.
Just like the rest of their body, children's immune systems are also not fully developed. As an adult, you have been exposed to numerous threats to your health, and like a well-developed military, your body has built up a defense system against them. Children, however, are like a new country that's still building its army. Their bodies are still learning how to fight disease and may not be able to fight the effects of toxicants as well as adults.
Think about where children spend most of their time - near the ground! Babies crawl on the ground (which is where they pick up most of the objects that eventually end up in their mouths), and children are shorter than adults. Toxicants in treated carpets, floors and furniture are therefore much closer to their faces, where they breathe and eat. Toxicants in the air also tend to be closer to the ground, so children are more likely to breathe in polluted air than adults because they're at the same level.
Of all children, fetuses in the womb and breastfeeding babies are some of the most susceptible to toxicants. This is not only because of the rapid development their bodies are going through but also because they are exposed to all of the chemicals that the mother has taken in and stored up through her lifetime. Many heavy metals, such as mercury and cobalt, accumulate in human tissue (so once it's in your body it stays there), and these can be passed through fluid in the womb and breast milk. This is why pregnant women are discouraged from eating fish - fish contain high levels of mercury, which can be very dangerous to an unborn baby.
Children may look like small versions of adults, but their small size and developing bodies are a disadvantage to them when exposed to toxicants. Children are much more susceptible to environmental toxicants because, relative to their small body size, children take in larger amounts of toxicants. They are also more sensitive to the effects of toxicants because, like a wound healing on your skin, children's bodies are 'healing' into adults.
Children are also much closer to the ground than adults, which is where exposure to toxicants is more likely to occur from treated carpets, floors and furniture. The floor is also a great place for children and babies to find things to put in their mouths. Air pollution tends to be worse closer to the ground, which is the air that children are more likely to breathe in.
Once in the body, toxicants can be more harmful to children whose immune systems are like a newly formed army instead of a well-established adult immune system. Children are also exposed to toxicants from the mother as fetuses in the womb or breastfeeding babies. Babies and children have faster metabolisms because their bodies need to take in as many nutrients as quickly as possible to help them grow big and strong. However, children's bodies also take up toxicants just as vigorously, so the effects may be greater than in adult bodies.
After you have seen this video, you should be better aware of the fact that children, by their sheer size, are far more susceptible to disease and environmental toxins than adults who have built up internal defenses over the years. You'll probably recognize some of the reasons for children's susceptibility, including the fact that their digestive systems work more quickly and fetuses are sometimes exposed to toxicants through their mothers.
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