A study conducted by the Canadian Medical Association has found that common household disinfectants may increase the risk of obesity in children. The chemicals present in cleaning products we use every single day may alter the gut flora of children in their first few months of life.  However, the children in households that used eco-friendly cleaners were less likely to be overweight.

Researchers from across Canada looked at data on microbes in infant fecal matter among children enrolled in the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) birth cohort. The study assessed 757 infants from the ages of three-four months. Their gut flora and BMI were recorded for the purpose of this research. Researchers found that, “infants living in households with disinfectants being used at least weekly were twice as likely to have higher levels of the gut microbes Lachnospiraceae at age three to four months.” said principal investigator Anita Kozyrskyj, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta.

Lachnospiraceae is a common bacteria in the gut that is non-pathogenic. The children who were not exposed to disinfectants at an early age had lower BMIs than those  with frequent exposure. 

“When they were three years old, their body mass index was higher than children not exposed to heavy home use of disinfectants as an infant,” she added.

In contrast, the study found that babies living in households that used eco-friendly cleaners had different microbiota and were less likely to be overweight as toddlers.

No exact evidence has been found that changes of the microbiome may actually be linked to obesity. However, they call for further studies “to explore the intriguing possibility that use of household disinfectants might contribute to the complex causes of obesity through microbially mediated mechanisms.”

“Cleaning products have the capacity to change the environmental microbiome and alter risk for child overweight,” write the authors.This is particularly important during the developmental stages of life. 

For more information on household cleaners and gut flora, visit Household cleaners may alter kid’s gut flora and contribute to being overweight.

Contributed By: Sofia Sepulveda

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