Household cleaning products may be making children FAT due to chemicals in detergents ‘altering bacteria in their guts’
- Toddlers are more likely to be overweight if their mothers use chemical products
- Chemicals change gut bacteria, leaving youngsters unable to regulate appetite
- Cleaning with eco-friendly, natural alternatives does not have the same effect
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Household cleaning products may be making children overweight by altering their gut bacteria.
Youngsters are more likely to be overweight at three years old if their mothers clean with chemical-based detergents rather than natural alternatives, a Canadian study found.
This is thought to be due to the chemicals in detergents changing a toddler’s gut bacteria, which may leave them less able to regulate their appetite.
Previous research suggests youngsters who spend more time in ‘clean environments’, such as their homes, rather than attending nursery with other children, are more likely to be overweight.
Chemicals in cleaning products, known as obesogens, are also thought to trigger fat cells to multiply and may even reprogramme other cells to become fat cells.
Cleaning products may make children overweight by altering their gut bacteria (stock)
Researchers from the University of Alberta analysed the faeces of 757 babies aged three-to-four months old to determine their gut bacteria.
The same youngsters were weighed when they were between one and three years old. Their weights were compared against the World Health Organization’s recommended BMI scores at different ages.
Their mothers completed questionnaires that asked them how often they used different cleaning products in their homes.
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Results, published in the journal CMAJ, suggest the bacteria Lachnospiraceae is 1.3 times more likely to be present in a baby’s gut if its mother frequently cleans with disinfectants.
ARE MOTHERS WHO WORK LONGER HOURS MORE LIKELY TO HAVE OBESE CHILDREN?
Working women are less likely to have obese children – but only if they are in the office for under 24 hours a week, research suggested in October last year.
Yet, youngsters aged between three and four years old are more at-risk of obesity if their mothers work for more than 35 hours a week, a study by the WZB Berlin Social Science Center found.
Those aged between eight and 14 are less likely to carry excess weight if their mothers work 35-to-40 hours a week, the research adds.
It is unclear why obesity risk varies according to differences in children’s ages and their mother’s working hours, however, the researchers believe seeing less of their parents may be detrimental for some, while others could benefit from the financial and ‘psychological’ advantages.
The World Health Organization estimates 42 million children around the world are overweight or obese, putting them at an increased risk of type 2 diabetes.
Such infants are also more likely to be overweight by the time they turn three.
Children with lots of Lachnospiraceae are also 1.6 times more likely to have high amounts of the bacteria Ruminococcus, as well as low levels of the bugs Haemophilus and Clostridium.
This is the same bacteria composition that is often seen in eczema and diabetes patients. Clostridium also plays an important role in a person’s digestion and immunity.
In contrast, when eco-friendly cleaning products are used, youngsters are more likely to be a healthy weight.
This may be due to such products having less of an impact on a child’s gut bacteria or it could that people who use these cleansers lead healthier lifestyles.
Either way, all of the results remained the same even after the scientists took into account factors that can influence a child’s gut bacteria, such as if they were breastfed, born via C-section or took antibiotics.
In conclusion, the researchers wrote: ‘Antibacterial cleaning products have the capacity to change the environmental microbiome and alter [the] risk for [a] child [being] overweight.’
Lead author Professor Anita Kozyrskyj added future studies should uncover the specific ingredients in cleaning products that may contribute to obesity. She said: ‘The inability to do this was a limitation of our study.’
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