- Researchers in China studied university students’ diets and stool samples to examine how microplastics from takeout containers and bottled drinks affect gut health.
- Students who ate takeout meals more frequently had significantly higher levels of microplastics, along with gut bacteria changes linked to inflammation and poor health.
- While the study was small, researchers say it highlights the urgent need for policies limiting plastic packaging and further research into long-term health effects.
Your takeout food might come with an extra ingredient: tiny pieces of microplastic. And, according to a new study, they’re disrupting your gut health.
In August, researchers from Shanxi Medical University in China published their findings in the journal Environmental Pollution, offering an in-depth picture of how microplastics in commonly used plastic packaging are affecting human gut health.
To assess these impacts, the researchers focused on a primary source of takeout orders: college students, who the team noted “frequently consume takeout food, contributing to over 50% of total takeout orders.” They also observed that university students are a particularly at-risk group, as “people who order takeout food 4–7 times weekly may ingest 12–203 pieces of [microplastics] through containers. Additionally, environmental sampling of indoor environments detected [microplastics] in university dormitories and classrooms. University students face compounded [microplastic] exposure risks through oral ingestion and inhalation.”
The team screened more than 200 students for inclusion in the study and selected 24 based on strict health criteria. They then asked all participants to keep a food and lifestyle diary for a week, recording how often they ate from plastic containers, drank bottled beverages, and tracked other habits that might lead to plastic ingestion. Each participant also provided stool samples, which were collected in glass jars using metal spoons to prevent cross-contamination from other plastics.
The researchers then analyzed those samples using both Raman spectroscopy and micro-FTIR, which can detect incredibly small plastic particles. The team also used DNA sequencing to examine the gut bacteria of the student participants. They found that every participant had microplastics in their stool.
On average, the researchers found between 171 and 269 plastic particles in every 100 grams of feces. Most of the microplastics were PET, the same plastic used in soda and water bottles, and most appeared as small, thin fibers. The team also detected nanoplastics, but in much smaller quantities. (The researchers noted that the technology to detect nanoplastic particles is still developing, and some of these particles are so tiny they may have been ingested rather than excreted with the feces.)
The research team also observed a clear outcome: students who reported eating plastic-packaged food three or more times daily had higher levels of microplastics than those who ate less. However, they wanted to go beyond just detecting the plastics and understand what they mean for our health.
So they also looked at the participants’ gut bacteria and discovered that students with the highest plastic exposure had increased levels of certain bacteria associated with inflammation and illness, as well as decreased levels of beneficial bacteria that support gut health. This finding, the team added, underscores microplastics’ “potential to compromise gut barrier integrity and promote systemic inflammation.”
While the study had a small participant pool and cannot yet prove a direct link between the plastics and gut bacteria, it is a major step in connecting the dots.
“Despite analytical limitations in nanoplastic detection, this study pioneers the identification of microbial biomarkers for plastic exposure and emphasizes the urgent need for regulatory policies targeting plastic packaging,” the team concluded, adding that “future studies with larger cohorts are warranted to understand “long-term health impacts.”
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