According to Statistics Canada, a third of Canadian children and teens are either overweight or obese. Behind these issues, there resides the lack of physical activity and overeating. However, a new study published today in the Canadian Medical Association Journal concluded that household cleaners could cause childhood obesity.
The investigators reviewed the data from the Canadian Healthy Infant Longitudinal Development (CHILD) study conducted on 3,500 children and targeting to predict, prevent and treat chronic illnesses. The scientists compared data from infants living in households where cleaners based on disinfectants were used on a weekly basis with the information retrieved from the kids who lived in houses where such products were used only occasionally.
According to the scientists, those kids exposed more to household cleaners had a higher body mass index (BMI) than the other group of children. After analyzing the former group’s feces samples, the researchers found lower levels of Haemophilus and Clostridium bacteria than usual.
For some time now, scientists are aware that there’s a link between bacteria in the human gut and obesity as the microbiota releases amino acids that can be measured in the bloodstream. According to this theory, the intestinal flora-released amino acids are responsible for a healthy metabolism. If more amino acids are produced, people gain weight.
According to the recent study, household cleaners are causing childhood obesity, but there is a need for further research to affirm that clearly, as the scientists reported. In reality, the new investigation could not reveal which cleaning products are more harmful to a healthy metabolism, so the outcomes are still viewed with skepticism by the scientific community.
Even though the researchers were not able to make a clear connection between childhood obesity and household cleaners, scientifically, statistically speaking, a link exists.