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BPA, a potentially toxic estrogen-mimicking compound used in plastic production, has been linked to obesity in the past. That’s bad news; BPA is in everything from soup cans to store receipts. But this is even worse: a chemical that breaks down into BPA can cause stem cells to become fat cells. And we’re exposed to a whole lot more of that chemical than BPA.

According to a study published this week in Environmental Health Perspectives, the chemical, bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (BADGE), was once thought to actually inhibit the production of fat cells–in other words, scientists thought it stopped us from gaining weight. The scientists behind the study were operating on that assumption when they discovered that BADGE is actually an obesogen, meaning it promotes weight gain.

he researchers were hunting for something that turned the receptor off for a key protein that regulates fat cells. There are two drugs widely used to do that, but they’re both unstable (they degrade quickly in cell cultures and need to constantly be replaced). So they turned to BADGE. “We were looking for another antagonist that lasted longer. To our surprise, [BADGE] did not antagonize the receptor, but turned stem cells to fat cells,” explains Dr. Bruce Blumberg, one of the researchers behind the study.