10 Sneaky Ways Your House Could Be Making You Gain Weight

It’s dusty

If the dust is piling up in your house, you may want to check out these seven smart strategies for getting rid of dust. You’ll find added motivation thanks to new research suggesting that indoor dust found in homes in contains endocrine-disrupting chemicals that prime our body’s cells to store fat. Of the 44 house dust contaminants tested, pyraclostrobin (a pesticide), the flame-retardant TBPDP, and DBP, a commonly used plasticizer, had the strongest fat-producing effects, the study found. “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, many of them considered obesogens, are detected in household dust and we now know very small amounts—we’re talking three micrograms—may have the power to tinker with a child’s metabolic health,” says Josh Axe, DNM, author of Eat Dirt, and co-founder of Ancient Nutrition.

What to do: “Make sure your vacuum has a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter, avoid sweeping up dry dust with a broom and consider a high-quality air filter, like one from IQAir,” Axe says. HEPA filters can remove as much as 99 percent of indoor air pollutants. Certain houseplants such as jade plants, spider plants, and Dracaena also remove pollution from your home, he says. (This is the real reason you gain weight as you age.)

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