There has been a study done in Canada showing that disinfectants may, in fact, be linked to childhood obesity. The study showed that households that used regular disinfectants had children with significantly more gut bacteria that is correlated with obesity. Now the relation of causality is still an ongoing study, but initial reports have shown that parents that used regular surface disinfectants at least once a week was causing these certain bacteria to be more prevalent earlier in the child’s life than normal.
The study did not mention any specific cleaners used in the study, and this is troubling for many reasons, but the main reason is that common household disinfectants are important to kill bacteria that could cause illness for your family including the flu virus bacteria. However, one gripe by the American cleaning institute was that the study did not consider the eating habits of the families surveyed.
The best thing that you and your family could consider is looking into more eco friends household cleans and more natural cleaning solutions such as vinegar and all-natural products. This way, you could not only be helping your household be safe, but it could also be keeping your family healthy!
Citation
Scutti, S. (2018, September 17). Household disinfectants could be making kids overweight, study says. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/17/health/disinfectants-baby-gut-microbiota-bmi-study/index.html
