Study: Household cleaners may cause obesity in young children

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Source: AllerGen Network News

Killing germs around the house may have an impact on young childrens’ waistlines.

The connection? The infant gut microbiome, according to a study led by AllerGen investigator Dr. Anita Kozyrskyj (University of Alberta).

“Infants living in households where disinfectants are used at least weekly are twice as likely to have higher levels of the bacteria called Lachnospiraceae at three to four months of age," observes Dr. Kozyrskyj. “Those same children have a higher body mass index (BMI) at three years of age, compared to children not exposed to frequent home use of disinfectants as infants."

The finding is more than an association, she adds: "Our ‘mediation’ statistical analysis suggests that a gut microbiome enriched with Lachnospiraceae early in infancy was likely directly responsible for children becoming overweight or obese.” 

The study also found that infants in households that use eco-friendly cleaners had decreased odds of becoming overweight or obese, though the reasons for this difference remain uncertain.

Reported in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ), these findings are based on an analysis of data from 757 children participating in AllerGen’s CHILD Study. 

Webinar: Girl-specific health promotion

Integrating Curriculum on Healthy Eating, Physical Activity, and Substance Use into Girls’ Programs

Thursday, September 13, 2018 at 1:00pm ETD / 10:00AM PDT / 11:00am MDT / 12:00pm CDT / 2:00 pm ADT / 2:30 NDT

The Presenters

  • Nancy Poole, Director, Centre of Excellence for Women’s Health
  • Marbella Carlos, Project Officer, Girls Action Foundation

Join Girls Action Foundation and the Centre of Excellence for Women's Health for part two of their Health Promotion for Girls webinar series and the release of the new Health and Wellness curriculum guide developed by Girls Action Foundation.

The webinar will focus on the “what?” of integrating health promotion into girls empowerment groups, and share ideas on how facilitators of girls' groups might integrate the new guide into their programs.

Girls Action Foundation and the Centre of Excellence for Women's Health welcome all individuals and groups who are interested in girls’ group programming and girls' health and wellness overall.

Register for the webinar

Instagram promotes positive attitudes towards breastfeeding

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Source: AllerGen Network News

AllerGen investigator Dr. Meghan Azad (University of Manitoba) met AllerGen Highly Qualified Personnel Alessandro Marcon (University of Alberta) at AllerGen’s 2016 Research Conference in Vancouver, BC.

Their encounter catalyzed a unique research project that explored the question of whether or not Instagram users are building communities of support around women who breastfeed.

The answer, the researchers found, is “yes”! 

Analyzing more than 4,000 images and 8,000 comments posted on Instagram using popular breastfeeding-related hashtags, they found that the platform was used to create supportive networks for new mothers to share their experiences with breastfeeding. Discussions were overwhelmingly positive with virtually no hostile content.

Their paper, “Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding on Instagram,” was published in Maternal and Child Nutrition in August 2018.

The researchers suggest that Instagram could potentially offer “new avenues and opportunities to ‘normalize,’ protect, promote, and support breastfeeding more broadly across its large and diverse global online community.” This, in turn, could help improve breastfeeding rates by changing perceptions and building supportive communities for breastfeeding moms. 

Together we can make a difference for children in pain

Members of the Centre for Pediatric Pain Research have been working closely with the Canadian Association of Paediatric Health Centres (CAPHC) and many others across Canada and beyond on a proposal to support a new network called “Solutions for Kids in Pain” (SKIP).

Anyone with an interest in children's pain management is asked to please take 5 minutes to complete the following online survey:

The Centre for Pediatric Pain Research will use your feedback to develop a network that will improve the way children's pain is managed in Canada and beyond! You can also follow their progress on Twitter @KidsinPain and #ItDoesntHaveToHurt.