Household cleaning products can contribute to overweight children, reveals this Canadian study presented in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ). By modifying the intestinal microbiota of children, these disinfectants disrupt their metabolic balance and thus increase the risk of obesity.
It is the analysis of the intestinal flora of 757 infants aged 3 to 4 months, with regard to their body weight, at 1 and 3 years of age and their exposure to disinfectants and detergents used at home, which leads to these conclusions. Analysis of these data from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) cohort coupled with World Health Organization growth charts shows:
- Altered gut microbiota in babies aged 3-4 months most frequently exposed to household disinfectants such as multi-surface cleaners;
- these babies show lower levels of Haemophilus and Clostridium bacteria but higher levels of Lachnospiraceae;
- levels of Lachnospiraceae bacteria in particular are higher with more frequent cleaning with disinfectants, which is not seen with green cleaners.
Higher levels of Lachnospiracea bacteria: “We find,” comments lead author Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj, professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta “that children living in homes that use disinfectants at least once times a week are 2 times more likely to have higher levels of Lachnospiracea gut microbes at 3 or 4 months of age. At 3 years old, their body mass index (BMI) is higher. On the other hand, infants from homes that use environmentally friendly cleaners have much lower levels of intestinal microbacteria, enterobacteriaceae”.
Prefer ecological products? The study suggests that using eco-friendly products may be healthier for mothers and also contribute to healthy gut microbiomes and healthy weights in their infants. Experts from Johns Hopkins (Baltimore) comment on these results, calling them biologically plausible.
The authors call for further studies to explore these "microbial-mediated mechanisms."