Giving Compass' Take:

• Dennis Thompson at HealthDay discusses new research showing that exposure to household disinfectants at an early age may increase childhood obesity risks due to alterations in gut bacteria.

• How can parents protect their infants from the risks associated with household disinfectants and chemicals? Are there ways to institute policies that will help this effort?

• Read more about childhood obesity in this study on global weight trends.

If you're a clean freak, you could be inadvertently fattening your children, a new study suggests.

The research can't prove cause-and-effect, but suggests that household disinfectants might be promoting childhood obesity by altering the gut bacteria of infants.

Fecal samples showed that 3- and 4-month-old infants regularly exposed to antibacterial household cleaners had higher levels of a type of gut bacteria that squeezes extra energy out of food, researchers found.

These babies were more likely to have a higher body mass index (BMI) and to be either overweight or obese by age 3, the study authors said.

On the other hand, babies whose parents used "eco-friendly" cleaning products had lower odds of excess weight by age 3, the findings showed.

"Take it easy when you're cleaning with disinfectants," said senior researcher Anita Kozyrskyj, a professor of pediatrics at the University of Alberta in Canada. "Our observations were at the high end [of cleanliness], with people who were cleaning more than weekly, up to daily."

Read the full article about exposure to household disinfectants by Dennis Thompson at HealthDay.