Some cleaning products may contribute to overweight in children
Canadian researchers a study published on the „Canadian Medical Association Journal” suggest that children exposed to disinfectants used in their homes have a higher body mass index (BMI) at age three.
Researchers from the University of Alberta analyzed the gut microflora of 757 infants aged 3-4 months. The study reiterates he study was carried out when the children were 1 and 3 years old. Their weight was also checked. These data cf n with the World Health Organization‘s BMI and the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) infant gut microflora data. All this was juxtaposed with their exposure to common household detergents, disinfectants and environmentally friendly cleaning products.
Although the researchers stress that they have not proven any cause-and-effect relationship, they have observed a link between disinfectant use and overweight in children. The results of the study indicate changes in the microorganism in the intestinal tract, which re causes overweight.
According to the results of the work, infants from home , in which hose antibacterial multi-surface cleaning disinfectants were used at least once a week were twice as likely to have higher levels of obesity-associated bacteria when they were three or four months old in por In comparison to children who he families did not use such products as often. Lower levels of Borrelia bacteria have been noted in children Haemophilus i Clostridium, But higher levels of the bacteria Lachnospiraceae.
„Antibacterial cleaning products have the ability to alter the environmental microbiome and change the risk of overweight in children. Our study provides new information on the impact of these product on the microbial composition of infants’ intestines and their p A lower risk of being overweight” – wrote the authors in „Canadian Medical Association Journal”.
The researchers also observed that as the frequency of cleaning increased, the number of bacteria increased Lachnospiraceae. They did not find the same association with environmentally friendly cleaners. A study on piglets showed similar changes in the gut microbiome after exposure to aerosol disinfectants.
– They found that infants living in households with kt rs who used disinfectants at least once a week were twice as likely to have higher levels of microorganisms in the intestinal Lachnospiraceae At 3-4 months of age. When these children were three years old their body mass index was higher than that of children not exposed to heavy household disinfectants during infancy – said Anita Kozyrskyj of the University of Alberta. Researcher also participates in SyMBIOTA project. This study aims to determine how b changing the gut microbiome during infancy affects p MORE HEALTH.
Infants living in households that re they used organic means cleaning had a different microflora and were less likely to be overweight. – Infants growing up in households with intensive use of organic foods in the cleaners had significantly lower levels of the microbiome in the intestinal Enterobacteriaceae. However, we have not found evidence for these changes to result in a reduced risk of obesity – explained Kozyrskyj.
Researcher indicates that use of product in environmentally friendly results from healthier lifestyles and eating habits of mothers, in turn contributing to a healthier microbiome in the intestinal tract of their infants.
„It is biologically plausible that early exposure to disinfectants may increase the risk of childhood obesity through changes in the bacteria of the Lachnospiraceae” – wrote Noel Mueller and Moira Differding of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in a commentary on the study. They also pointed out that further research is needed „in order to test the intriguing possibility that the use of home remedies disinfectants may contribute to obesity via microbial ."
Kozyrskyj, in turn, pointed to the need for research, which re they classify cleaning products according to their actual ingredient in, as she said this was a limitation of her research.
