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MONDAY, Sept. 17, 2018 (HealthDay News) – If you're a clean monster, you could inadvertently fatten your children, suggests a new study.
The research can not prove cause and effect, but suggests that household disinfectants could promote obesity in children by altering intestinal bacteria in infants.
The researchers found that fecal specimens showed that infants at 3 and 4 months regularly exposed to antibacterial household cleaners exhibited higher rates of a type of intestinal bacteria that drained food energy.
According to the study's authors, these babies were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and be overweight or obese by the age of 3 years.
In addition, the results showed that babies whose parents used "green" cleaning products had a probability of overweight less than 3 years.
"Take comfort when cleaning with disinfectants," said lead researcher Anita Kozyrskyj, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta in Canada. "Our observations were at the highest level [of cleanliness], with people cleaning more than once a week, until every day. "
Representatives of the US cleaning products market said they were "disappointed by the sensational statements" made by the researchers.
According to Richard Sedlak, executive vice president of technical and international affairs at the American Cleaning Institute.
"Based on our scientific and technical analysis, the assumptions made by the researchers do not really stand up," said Sedlak.
In the study, the research team collected faecal samples from 757 infants aged 3 months to 4 months and asked mothers of babies whether they used household cleaners. They then followed the weight gain in babies up to the age of 3 years.
Antibiotics and antimicrobial agents can alter the composition of each person's intestine (microbiome) by killing certain species of bacteria, allowing others to flourish.
The most notorious example is Clostridium difficile, a bacterium that can flourish because of excessive consumption of antibiotics and lead to life-threatening diarrhea.
According to Kozyrskyj, "disinfectant products used very often, once a week or more, caused changes in the intestinal bacteria of infants. This has resulted in the decline of some bacteria and others an increase.
Specifically, antibacterial cleansers were linked to increased levels Lachnospiracées in infants.
Lachnospiracées Bacteria should not be very prevalent in the intestines of babies who are not yet eating solid foods, said Gail Cresci, an expert in pediatric gastroenterology at Cleveland Clinic.
According to Cresci, these bacteria are usually "good" bacteria that feed on hard-to-digest carbohydrate fibers and provide extra energy to the body.
"You do not start seeing them until the diet has been advanced to solids, around 2 or 3 years old," she added.
Have an abundance of Lachnospiracées According to Cresci, young children could be bombarded with extra calories.
"It could be logical that if an increase in these bacteria occurs early, at 3 months, this could allow the microbiome to harvest more energy and at that age, it would be stored as fat," Cresci explained. "This could potentially contribute to obesity later."
Infants living in households where the use of disinfectants is most prevalent were twice as likely to have an intestinal microbiome enriched with Lachnospiracées, the researchers reported.
Higher Lachnospiracées Levels were associated with higher BMI scores at ages 1 and 3, according to the report.
Kozyrskyj said the researchers "found that those Lachnospiracées high with the use of disinfectant was probably responsible for this overweight development. They were on the way. "
Infants were more likely to have normal weight when green cleaners were used daily. These cleansers are homemade or store-bought cleansers that use natural ingredients such as vinegar, peroxide, baking soda, citric acid or essential oils, noted Kozyrskyj.
Although the results are interesting, this study does not establish a clear cause-and-effect relationship, said Dr. Sheela Magge, director of pediatric endocrinology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore.
"I agree with biological likelihood, but we obviously need more work to determine what is the cause and what is the effect," Magge said. "It's always hard to really establish that one thing in particular, in this case, these household cleaners, leads to increased weight gain."
The study, funded in part by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, was released on September 17 CMAJ (Journal of the Canadian Medical Association).
More information
The American Cleaning Institute has more on household cleaners.
SOURCES: Anita Kozyrskyj, Ph.D., Professor of Pediatrics, University of Alberta, Canada; Richard Sedlak, Executive Vice President, Technical and International Affairs, American Cleaning Institute; Gail Cresci, Ph.D., R.D., expert in pediatric gastroenterology, Cleveland Clinic; Sheela Magge, MD, Director, Pediatric Endocrinology, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore; September 17, 2018, CMAJ (Journal of the Canadian Medical Association)
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