Babies living in households that used eco-friendly cleaners were less likely to be overweight as toddlers.

Could the disinfectants that we commonly use to clean our homes cause our children to become overweight? Researchers for the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study analyzed the gut microbiota of more than 750 children aged 3–4 months, and looked at the children’s exposure to disinfectants, detergents, and eco-friendly cleaning products used in their homes. After controlling for a wide range of other potential factors, the results found a clear, dose-dependent link between the mothers’ reported use of disinfectant in the home, changes in the levels of some types of normal gut bacteria in their 3–4-month-old infants, and the children’s weight at age 1 and 3 years. In contrast eco-friendly cleaning products didn’t increase the likelihood of children becoming overweight.

“We 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 3–4 months,” comments Anita Kozyrskyj, Ph.D., a University of Alberta pediatrics professor, […]